Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the public healthcare system isn't coping.
In an interview with 702 radio, he said: “If we are talking about waiting times and long queues, that is one big characteristic of government hospitals. And when we spoke about the issue of universal health coverage, it is because we want to deal with exactly that.”
He said the department did have a number of plans that were set to address the issues in the public healthcare system.
He said non-communicable diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure were also on the increase.
“There is an explosion of non-communicable diseases, which we have not seen anywhere. I have been in the health sector for the past 33 years and have never in that period seen so many people suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer. It is unprecedented.”
The listeria outbreak was the latest communicable disease to hit South Africa.
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases said that as of January 3, a total of 717 cases of listeria had been confirmed. The Western Cape recorded the second highest number, at 92 cases.
The institute said cases had been confirmed in both the public and private healthcare sectors.
“Diagnosis was based most commonly on the isolation of Listeria monocytogenes in blood culture followed by cerebrospinal fluid. Ages ranged between birth and 93, the institute added. Of neonatal cases, 96% had early onset. Females account for 55% of cases where gender is reported.
“Environmental health practitioners from the City of Tshwane recently investigated a Tshwane patient hospitalised with listeriosis. A chicken sample collected from the fridge at the patient’s home tested positive for L. monocytogenes.
“This chicken was traced back to the store, and from there traced back to the abattoir it was sourced from. The environmental health practitioners visited the abattoir and collected food and environmental samples, several of which tested positive for L. monocytogenes. As a precaution, the abattoir was closed pending further investigations.
“The abattoir-related L. monocytogenes are undergoing tests to assess whether they are related to the ST6 outbreak strain or not. These results will be available during the week.”
Cape Argus