Covid-19 vaccine, NHI high on agenda in Zikalala’s SOPA

KwaZulu-Natal’s vaccine roll-out plan is on track with at least 33 399 people already registered for the first phase of the provincial inoculation programme.

KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala highlighted the programmed during his State of the Province Address in the Provincial Legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Friday noting that most health workers have reported a renewed sense of positivity and feeling of being protected since the arrival of the vaccine.

“KZN received 10 800 vaccines in the first phase and we have vaccinated a total of 7337 health workers at our two sites in Albert Luthuli and Prince Mshiyeni Hospital,” Zikalala said.

Zikalala added that the government’s National Health Insurance Plan remained a priority to ensure access to healthcare for all citizens.

“Although we say Covid-19 does not discriminate, we also know that it has exposed our faultiness and exacerbated social inequalities.  It is clear that the poorest of the poor are more vulnerable to an inadequate, unequal healthcare system. The ANC-led government remains committed to universal healthcare through the accelerated implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI),” he said.

“We can report that we are in the last year of Phase 2 of the National Health Insurance (NHI) implementation plan.  Phase Three will commence in 2022. In phase 1 and 2, we saw a massive investment in infrastructure, human resources, health systems and human development,” he said.

Zikalala said that for the province’s focus regarding NHI would be on 

• Improving the clinical governance and compliance systems.
• Establishing a properly resourced Health Compliance and Accreditation Unit.
• Strengthening the Primary Health Care Re-engineering and systems. 

He said the province remained on track to open the Dr Pixley Ka Isaka Seme Memorial Hospital. The 500-bed hospital will provide regional services to communities in the Inanda-Ntuzuma-KwaMashu (INK) area. 

“The hospital is at 98% practical completion rate and should be operational no later than June 2021. The commissioning of the building, equipment and Human Resources is in progress and anticipated to be completed in April 2021. The Organisational Structure of the hospital has a total number of 1 513 posts, with eight senior management posts have already been filled,” he said.

He added that to be ready for the implementation of NHI the provincial government had resolved that every district must have a regional hospital.