Pretoria – North West Premier Thandi Modise has adopted a children’s ward at Mafikeng Provincial Hospital as part of her personal contribution to ease the burden on the shoulders of the hospital staff.
Modise, who was accompanied by provincial MECs, Heads of Department and senior managers, visited the hospital over the weekend and helped in cooking meals for patients, cleaning wards, washing babies, ironing clothes and cleaning the yard.
The visit was part of their 67 minutes contribution during Mandela Week, marking the culmination of a highly successful Mandela Week campaign in the province.
The premier said she was touched by conditions in the ward and the plight of children, and made a commitment to visit the ward frequently throughout the year.
“I’ll do everything possible in my personal capacity to ensure that the ward is in good condition, provides the best possible care for children and is properly maintained, and the children stay in a clean and healthy ward,” said Modise.
Challenges identified by the premier in the hospital include inadequate medical equipment; staff attitude and morale; inability to recruit and retain health professionals, and overcrowding, leading to the hospital serving more people than it did a few years ago.
Modise told hospital management that she was aware of the constraints and challenges facing the hospital. Despite these challenges, she said things were improving at the hospital. She stressed the need for government to do more to assist the hospital.
“We need to support hospital staff to help our patients better. We must help to improve the morale of staff, make sure that they have the right equipment to do their work and ensure that we fill vacant posts so that we do not overload our health workers.”
Modise also promised that all the identified challenges will receive the necessary attention. – BuaNews
