Health care system

Has the process of developing human resource's been geared towards making Primary Health Care a priority?" This is a question to which the previous edition of HST Update drew attention. We continue the debate by focusing on a cadre of health workers operating at the community level of health care.

The focus of the National Health Insurance Conference, themed “Lessons for South Africa”, was to create a national consultative health forum as a platform for South Africans to engage with local and international experts in the areas of health financing and health systems reforms and how these have been undertaken in other contexts to ensure that universal coverage to quality health services is achieved for the entire national population. The Conference was organised as part of the Department’s strategy to consult as many stakeholders as is possible on the contents of the Green Paper on National Health Insurance (NHI) which was published in Gazette Number 34523 on 12th August 2011 to initiate a process of eliciting comments from the public.

The Green Paper on National Health Insurance (NHI) was published on 12th August 2011 and it indicates that NHI will be implemented gradually in three phases over a fourteen year period. The implementation of NHI is aimed at ensuring universal access to quality healthcare on a more sustainable and equitable basis than currently exists for the entire population. The implementation of NHI is a priority of Government as articulated in Government’s Programme of Action as well as the Negotiated Service Delivery Agreement. In order for the health sector to contribute towards achieving A Long and Healthy Life for All South Africans, the Minister of Health has committed to the following NSDA outputs:
a) Increased life expectancy

Health system strengthening is a key objective in both the Negotiated Service Delivery Agreement and the Re-engineered Primary Health Care approach. Effective utilisation of routine data is crucial for improving the effectiveness of service delivery as well as for improvement of health information systems. There remains considerable scope for improved utilisation of routine data for quality improvement.

THE NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH HOSTS A CONFERENCE THEMED “NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE: LESSONS FOR SOUTH AFRICA”

Purpose

The SAHR 2011 provides valuable policy and empirical information on a range of issues that are related to and impact on the Negotiated Service Delivery Agreement and primary health care re-engineering as envisaged by the National Department of Health (NDoH). A range of experts provide commentary on topics ranging from rural health, health technology to human resources. SAHR 2011 also contains a section on core health issues, where developments in health information systems, financing health care, and health legislation and policy are discussed. The Review concludes with the Indicators chapter which presents a selection of the best available data on the functioning and performance of the health system.

Health Systems Trust (HST) is a dynamic not-for-profit organisation (NPO) established in 1992 to support the transformation of the health system in a new democratic South Africa. Subscribing to a primary health care approach, HST actively supports current and future development of a comprehensive health system, through strategies designed to promote equity and efficiency in health and health care delivery in southern Africa.

HST’s Structure

HST employs about 50 staff members in two directorates, Programmes and Corporate Services, that collaborate in achieving the organisation’s goals. HST relies on the services of independent consultants when project demands exceed the capacity of the core staff.