13 May 2003
The Minister of Health presented her budget speech to the National Assembly today. The address touched on various priority programmes and efforts being made to address challenges and build on the successes that the health sector has made over the past nine years of democracy.
The Minister outlined the measures taken to put into action the announcement by the President that free health care will be extended to people with disability. This provision will cover both outpatient visits and admission, including all inpatient care and major assistive devices such as wheelchairs and hearing aids.
Beneficiaries include people who have permanent disabilities that result in difficulty in executing normal tasks of living. It will also include older persons who are considered to be frail and long-term patients in mental health institutions. However, it excludes people covered by medical aid, those who have temporary disability or have a chronic illness that does not cause substantial loss of functional ability.
These benefits come into effect on 1 July 2003.
The Department will spend about R30 million to eliminate the current backlog in the supply of wheelchairs and hearing aids. The provincial departments will take responsibility for replacement devices and assisting the newly disabled.
A special attention is paid to the area of human resources as a backbone of the health system. The Department will seek to address the challenge of mal-distribution of professionals between the private and public sector and migration to developed countries including the improvement of working conditions.
In this regard, R500 million has been set aside to retain professionals who are in particular short supply and to attract more into the public health sector. This allocation is expected to increase to R750 million in the next financial year and reach R1 billion in 2005/6.
The money will be used in two ways:
While this package of financial incentives is still going to pass through the public sector bargaining council, we are confident that it will come into effect on the 1st of July this year.
The state of health facilities and availability of appropriate equipment is being addressed. The capital investment in hospital buildings and equipment under the Hospital Revitalisation Programme is at R717 million this year and is to rise to R911 next year and R1 billion the year after.
A total of 18 new projects have been initiated bringing to 27 the number of projects currently being implemented under the Revitalisation Programme. At least 18 of these projects involve the building of new hospitals.
After the opening of the 840-bed Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban last year, we expect the Nelson Mandela (health) Complex to begin to provide Unitra with top class teaching facility by the end of this year. Pretoria Academic Hospital will be last of these three new teaching facilities to be completed. The phase two of its construction will be completed next year.
A substantial amount of health resources (R1,1 billion) go towards addressing the challenge of HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB. These resources will strengthen the implementation of the Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS and the Medium Term Development Plan on TB. We remain committed to expanding these interventions guided by the Cabinet resolutions of April 2002 and March 2003.
Prevention initiatives are being enhanced, Voluntary counselling and Testing extended and initiatives to support good nutrition and use of immune boosters and traditional therapies are being put in place.
Access to Nevirapine for prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV is available at more than 650 points covering more than 50% of those attending antenatal clinic and it continues to be expanded.
As part of a broader effort to address the challenge of access to HIV/AIDS related treatment, a Joint Health/Treasury Task Team was set up to undertake projection of the costs of various treatment options. The work of the Task Team is to be taken to Cabinet which will assess the affordability of a quality intervention. This intervention would not only involve the provision of medication but would provide medical and social support needed to get high treatment compliance and good results for the patient.