King Nyabela Hospital offers comprehensive healthcare services

President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially opened the new King Nyabela Hospital, a development that advances government's commitment to universal health coverage.

“With some 87% of people completely reliant on public healthcare in Mpumalanga, the 220-bed hospital goes a long way in serving the 240 000 people living in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality in Mpumalanga,” said President Ramaphosa during the official opening of the hospital.

“Healthcare is about giving every man, woman and child the chance to live with dignity. This is the promise of our Constitution, which declares that everyone has the right of access to healthcare services and that the state must take reasonable measures, within available resources, to achieve the realisation of this right.”

The new facility includes surgical, medical, paediatric, antenatal, postnatal, neonatal and high-care wards, as well as world-class accident and emergency departments and three operating theatres.

For outpatients, services also include a pharmacy, Tuberculosis and HIV management, dentistry and eye care, dietetics and nutrition services, social workers, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, medical male circumcision and mental health services, among others.

President Ramaphosa described the range of services as an example of comprehensive healthcare services.

“Healthcare is not just about calling for an ambulance when we are sick, about fetching amaphilisi [medication] every month at the clinic or going to the emergency ward if there has been an accident. Comprehensive healthcare is about walking alongside our people through every season of their lives.

“It is about helping people to keep and stay healthy and starting to do so when they are still children. Comprehensive healthcare is about healing the mind as well as the body.

“Comprehensive healthcare is about prevention, early detection and management of all the health issues our people face,” the President stated.

National Health Insurance

Turning to the National Health Insurance (NHI), President Ramaphosa noted that, at its core, the NHI is implementing the “constitutional right of access to healthcare, without this being dependent on where one lives or one’s ability to pay.”

The NHI is South Africa’s plan to ensure universal health coverage through a centralised national insurance fund from which the government will buy healthcare services from healthcare providers in both the public and private sectors.

The President emphasised government’s determination to ensure that, as the NHI is implemented, all hospitals and clinics that have been commissioned must be completed on time and within budget.”

The King Nyabela Hospital itself was delivered on time and on budget.

“There can be no space for corruption, fraud or waste in the procurement of health infrastructure, supplies or services. We have done much to tackle corruption in healthcare. Stolen funds have been recovered. Alleged perpetrators are being prosecuted.

“But we need to do more. We will end the criminal actions of those who steal from the sick and vulnerable, who endanger people’s lives,” President Ramaphosa said.

Turning to healthcare workers, the President acknowledged the work they do even under challenging circumstances.

“While hospitals and clinics are built with bricks and mortar, the heartbeat of our facilities is provided by the healthcare providers who diligently perform their duties, sometimes under difficult circumstances.

“We salute all the healthcare workers at this facility and across our country,” President Ramaphosa concluded.