By Jonews Reporter
IN an effort to reduce the duplication of services, the Gauteng government and City of Johannesburg have launched a pilot project, which will see the city taking over the provision of primary health care.
In terms of the ageement signed on Tuesday by Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa and Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo, the city will provide services in clinics and community health centres on an agency basis on behalf of the health department.
"The era where there were clinics falling under the municipality and others falling under the provincial government would now come to an end," the MEC said.
As part of the project, a comprehensive package of primary healthcare services will be available in all clinics. This is expected to eliminate a situation where municipal clinics are only providing preventative care.
"We must succeed for the sake of our own people. This project is being observed beyond Gauteng and South Africa. It is observed by others outside the country and if we succeed we succeed for humanity," mayor Masondo said.
Development planning and local government MEC Trevor Fowler, who witnessed the signing of the agreement, said the implementation of the pilot project would enable the government to improve the level of service delivery.
If the pilot is successful in Johannesburg, the project will be rolled out to other municipalities in the province.
