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Department of Health Strategic Plan 2009-2012:

Mr Thami Mseleku, Director-General, National Department of Health, presented the Department’s Strategic Plan and highlighted the National Health System (NHS) priorities for 2009-2014, also known as the 10-point plan. Each of these priorities was expanded in a detailed outline.

Point 1 To provide strategic leadership and create a social compact for better health outcomes by ensuring coherence in the health sector through an integrated Annual National Health Plan (ANHP) and strengthening community based leadership structures in health through training of Hospital Boards, amongst other initiatives.

Point 2 To implement National Health Insurance (NHI). In this regard, the Department will produce a comprehensive policy document in the form of a White Paper, proposing a framework for an integrated NHI. The Department would publish the draft NHI legislation for public comment and would finalise the process of consultation by March 2010. It will then put in place the necessary institutional and organisational structures to prepare for implementation, in collaboration with all key stakeholders from within and outside government.

Point 3 To improve the quality of services in the NHS. A well-capacitated Office of Standards Compliance is to be established. There will then be implementation of an integrated plan for improving the quality of health services in 18 districts, through initiatives such as the design and implementation of a national adverse-event reporting and response system, to improve patient safety and reduce unintended harm to patients. Plans are also under way for the establishment of an Ombuds Office that would receive and investigate all complaints about the quality of health services and recommend appropriate interventions.

Point 4 To overhaul the NHS and its management by strengthening financial management systems and budget control, to improve audit outcomes, and to reduce over-expenditure and the number of concerns raised by the Auditor-General. The Department will strengthen hospital management by enrolling a total of 150 Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of hospitals into the Hospital Management Programme by March 2010. Some of these issues were related to positioning for the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) so that the NHS will be geared towards this new financing arrangement.

Point 5 To improve human resources planning and development and management, entailed a review of the framework for Human Resources for Health Plan (HRH), implementation of the plan to develop a Nursing Strategy to address the country's need for various categories of nurses, finalisation of the audit of Nursing Colleges including costing of resources for recapitalisation and the mobilisation of resources for expanded production of nurses, and the finalisation and implementation of the Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD) for medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel and all outstanding categories of health workers. OSD is government initiative to address the problem whereby professionals could, in the past, only progress up to a certain ceiling by leaving the profession and going into  management positions.

Point 6 Concerns the revitalisation of infrastructure. This will be achieved by the production of a policy guideline on Planned and Preventative Maintenance (PPM) to assist Provinces in ensuring good maintenance of health infrastructure, by a complete evaluation of five tertiary hospitals so that they will render Tertiary (T1) services and serve as provincial referral hospitals, by exploring possibilities for the structured participation of the private sector in the Hospital Revitalisation Programme, and through an audit of infrastructure and services to assess the extent to which primary healthcare services are adequately equipped for community needs.

Piont 7 Is for the accelerated implementation of the HIV and AIDS strategic plan and an increased focus on tuberculosis (TB) and other communicable diseases. It will strengthen the management of TB through training of health professionals and community care-givers to support TB patients and facilitate successful completion of treatment, through conducting a national survey of drug-resistant TB and use of the results to inform the TB control programme, by strengthening inter-country and cross border control initiatives; and, as part of the planning for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, by scaling up community awareness programmes on prevention and control of communicable disease.

Point 8 The mass mobilisation for better health. The DoH will  intensify health promotion programmes and the Healthy Lifestyle Strategy (HLS) and will be finalised in 2009/10. This consists of 5 pillars, namely, nutrition, physical activity, tobacco control, alcohol and substance abuse control and safer sexual practices. DoH will be supporting provinces to implement and report on the HLS in all 52 districts, implementing of a set of key interventions for reducing alcohol abuse, and implementing a long-term care model to address non-communicable diseases and conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.

Point 9 A review of drug policy to improve drug supply and management and the implementation of a drug supply management information system to improve the monitoring of drug availability.

Priority 10 Is research and development. The DoH will commission research studies and surveys to generate key information for health planning, health service delivery and monitoring. The types of surveys include gathering reliable data on the health status of South Africans, including the extent of infant and maternal mortality, and conducting an Annual HIV and Syphilis Prevalence Survey. The DoH will also commission and fund research studies to assess the outcomes and impact of the implementation of the comprehensive HIV and AIDS plan.
More information regarding the 10 point plan please visit www.doh.gov.za