Gauteng Legislature’s Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Subordinate Legislation chaired by Honourable Matshidiso Mfikoe conducted an oversight visit to Mamelodi Regional Hospital as well as Steve Boko Academic hospital
Gauteng Legislature’s Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Subordinate Legislation chaired by Honourable Matshidiso Mfikoe conducted an oversight visit to Mamelodi Regional Hospital as well as Steve Biko Academic Hospital on Thursday.
According to Mfikoe, part of her committee’s responsibilities is to approve fees or tariffs that need to be paid by citizens when using government facilities like hospitals, mortuaries and Emergency Medical Services.
“We are happy that the patients that we spoke to are aware that they must pay fees for the said facilities even though some of them have indicated that the fees are a bit high for them as they are not employed but that they do pay the said fees as and when required to do so,” she said.
Mfikoe said in some cases the said facilities face challenges when trying to collect payments from foreign patients but that they would work together with the Department of Home Affairs to trace these patients and make them pay for the services that they have used.
“Service delivery will be enhanced if people pay for the aforesaid services because by so doing they will be playing their part in enabling the government to deliver services to them going forward,” she said.
Gauteng Legislature’s Standing Committee on Scrutiny of Subordinate Legislation chaired by Honourable Matshidiso Mfikoe conducted an oversight visit to Mamelodi Regional Hospital as well as Steve Boko Academic hospital
Mfikoe indicated that she and her committee would also visit other hospitals in the province of Gauteng and thereafter they will issue a report as well as recommendations to the Gauteng Department of Health and the Gauteng Legislature regarding their findings.
“We will hold a stakeholder engagement meeting before the end of the current financial year so as to help the government to deal with issues that have been escalated by different hospitals,” said Mfikoe.
The Uniform Patient Fee Schedule (UPFS) has been amended by the Gauteng Legislature and Mfikoe said her committee’s aim was to see how hospitals are implementing these amendments.
In terms of the amendments to the UPFS, an annual fee increment of 4,3% has been introduced to ensure sustainability while safeguarding access to healthcare for indigent patients as enshrined in the Constitution.