HEALTH

WHILE the City of Johannesburg is responsible for some aspects of health services, many are still rendered by the Gauteng provincial government. But there are plans afoot to devolve more and more of these services to the city. The city has already rendered many aspects of primary health care, and has demonstrated that it has the will to take over primary health services entirely. Over the next year all small and medium sized clinics will be handed over to the city. The process of transferring all primary health services will be completed by the end of 2004. The Health Department has a central unit, based at the Metro Centre, and 10 regional implementation units. The City of Johannesburg is thus a health district composed of 10 administrative health sub-districts or regions, which are demarcated according to the regions of the city. The central Health Department has six units dealing with: Primary health; Communicable and non-communicable diseases; HIV/AIDS; Environmental health; Pharmaceutical services; Health Information System (HIS).

Cash boost for Chris Hani Baragwanath August 14, 2002 By Tendai Dhliwayo A STATE-OF-THE-ART psychiatric ward for men at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto has been launched with a cash injection of R3,8-million from Gauteng province. The opening of the new 24-bed ward marks the beginning of an overhaul of the entire psychiatric department at the world's largest hospital. The ward boasts an air-conditioning system not available elsewhere in the hospital, and a monitoring system aided by computers helps staff observe patients, according to Dr Shirley Walton, the consultant psychiatrist in charge of the ward. Security is tight; an advanced card access system is used, and all windows are made of shatterproof glass. The ward, named Zebra because of its striped black and white exterior, also boasts four single rooms - blue-tiled and brightly painted - and a seclusion room. Further, there is a garden for patients to exercise in, play games and relax in the sun. "The ward is the first of its kind in South Africa," says Walton. It can take any type of psychiatric patients but has started with quieter ones, including some adolescents. The current patients in the new ward have problems ranging from schizophrenia to bipolar disorders or manic-depression; there are others with major depressive disorders and suicidal problems, mental retardation, and conditions rising from substance abuse. Three doctors, two occupational therapists and two assistants man this ward and four others. However, Walton notes there is a shortage of nursing staff. Prior to the new ward, about 60 male psychiatric patients were in a temporary ward, and others had to be transferred to provisional wards far away from the psychiatry department. This created problems, says Walton. "There was a real need for another ward, as patients were housed in poor wards with fire hazards. The new ward lessened overcrowding". The history of Baragwanath dates back to the discovery of the goldfields on the Witwatersrand. The outbreak of the Second World War brought the need for hospital facilities. The secretary of state in London at that time asked the South African government to provide health care facilities for imperial troops of the Middle East command. It was suggested two hospitals be built in South Africa. One of them was named "The Imperial Military Hospital, Baragwanath". The hospital was named after Cornish immigrant John Albert Baragwanath, who set up a refreshment post on the Witwatersrand goldfields close to where the new hospital was to be established. In 1942 he took part in treating casualties of war and TB patients at the newly established hospital. In 1997, the hospital was renamed Chris Hani Baragwanath in honour of the late Chris Hani, leader of the South African Communist Party and of the ANC's military wing, Umkhonto weSizwe, who was gunned down in 1993. Today, Chris Hani Baragwanath is the world's largest hospital, catering for patients with various ailments. Its psychiatry department alone looks after 140 to 160 patients in its wards in addition to outpatients every day. According to Hester van den Heever, assistant director of communications at the institution, the hospital admits about 150 000 patients per year and attends to some 500 000 outpatients annually. Adds Van den Heever, the hospital is faced with financial constraints and is operating under a tight budget which makes it difficult at times to hire staff to replace those that would have retired or resigned. At present, there is a staff shortage in the nursing and medical departments. Currently the hospital, which was allocated a budget of R766 995 823, for the 2001/2002 period, is providing health needs not only to the residents of Soweto but also acts as a referral hospital for the whole country as well as neighbouring countries. Further, it is also involved in the training of medical professionals. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400