Health Systems Trust (HST) welcomes the announcement of a Green Paper on National Health Insurance (NHI) by the Minister of Health.
The announcement is exactly the kind of leadership the country has been waiting for; thus ending months of speculation on what a system offering universal coverage for South Africans would entail.
The release of the Green Paper will facilitate open and transparent engagement and debate and will no doubt enrich the final form and structure that our universal health coverage system will take.
Valid, reliable and recent data will be needed in order to ensure that the NHI is implemented in a coherent and sustainable manner. To this end, HST together with the consortium of partners (Arup, Exponant, MRC and HISP) is in the process of conducting an independent audit of all public health facilities. Components of the audit include infrastructure, equipment, human resources, finance management, the services provided and quality of care. Through a process of direct observation, records review and, patient and staff interviews the audit provides a baseline for improvement and upgrading of identified facilities.
Since the projects inception on 3 May 2011 a total of 876 facilities have been audited at the end of July. While some preliminary results are available, the audit is expected to be completed by May 2012.
For more information, contact Ronel Visser: ronel@hst.org.za