IMATU WELCOMES THE FILLING OF HOSPITAL POSTS

The Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (IMATU) welcomes the announcement, made by the Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, that most of the  advertised hospital chief executive officer posts have been filled.

Yesterday the Minister revealed that only 16 of the advertised 118 hospital chief executive posts still needed to be filled. These executive posts became vacant when the required minimum qualifications for hospital managers changed as a result of the introduction of the National Health Insurance (NHI).

“IMATU supports the criteria used in the selection and recruitment of the newly elected chief executive officers. It is important to team managerial experience with the skills and knowledge obtained while actively practising in the field of healthcare. We hope that the newly employed managerial leadership will be able to build capacity and improve service delivery in South Africa’s hospitals and clinics,” said IMATU General Secretary, Johan Koen.

IMATU believes that greater focus must be placed on delivering quality primary healthcare to all South Africans.

“If we are able to build capacity and strengthen our municipal clinics, we would not only be able to alleviate congestion at larger provincial hospitals, but also establish heath centres that offer quality primary healthcare services to their surrounding communities. Efficient municipal clinics could be the answer to early detection and prevention of numerous diseases,” stated Koen.