18 Sep 2014

The Ministry of Health (MoH) is reviewing the Private Hospitals and Nursing homes Act where national health quality standards will be specifically articulated in the licensing conditions to make them compulsory

The standards in question will also be used in the development of a certification system that will be made mandatory to both public and private facilities, director of health services, Dr Khumo Seipone said at the national health quality standards dissemination campaign in Serowe on September 16.

“These instruments will set clear performance measures below which no facility shall be allowed to perform,” Dr Seipone said about the standards which were launched January this year.

Developed in February 2011, the national health quality standards is one of the strategic initiatives by MoH to improve the quality and safety of health services countrywide and these standards set minimum basic requirements for provision of quality and safe healthcare services.

Not only that, the standards also serve as a roadmap for service improvements and have been found to be “significantly important to patients or service users and place them at the heart of the healthcare system.”

Subsequently, Dr Seipone challenged management, leadership and governance of public and private health facilities and development partners to commit to meeting the set out standards by providing the necessary support and resources to staff for implementation of standards.

She said work is in progress to put in place a system to detect and respond more quickly to services that are failing or are likely to fail to protect public and take a coordinated effective appropriate action to address the failures.

Such interventions are there critically to ensure that expectations and health needs of patients and the community are met.Speaking at the campaign, Serowe Administration Authority Sub council chairperson, Mr Bafana Motseothata decried poor attitude towards work by some young nurses meted at the senior citizens. 

He was however, quick to point out that many of the Sekgoma Memorial Hospital staff was a committed lot who wanted to achieve. Mr Motseothata who is also chairperson of the hospital advisory committee stated that the hospital faced serious shortage of transport which affected the hospital’s operations. ENDS