Values that find expression in the department's "road to wellness" approach, she said. "This approach is underpinned by the person-centred quality care, outcomes-based approach, building of strategic partnerships, integrated primary health care system, strengthening of district health system models, efficiency and equity."
Critical to "the road to wellness" is the patient-centred care. "A patient-centred approach in our health centres is an outcome of a superior, positive encounter between a patient and those who offer services. This approach seeks to ensure that the organisation, the service design, and the behaviour of providers is geared towards ensuring that patients is treated with empathy, is listened to and its needs are addressed with the outmost care," she said.
This approach hinges on the department's service continuum which integrates acute and primary health care, she said. This integrated methodology of health constitutes the community health services and creates a seamless integration or partnership between community based health and tertiary hospitals, she said.
This method makes it easy for the department to deal with the burden of diseases such as HIV/Aids, injuries, chronic diseases and mental health, maternal and child health, she said.
According to her, this approach is already bearing fruits. Example of which is the decrease by 15% in the mortality rate in the province in 2008, she said.
This holistic technique to health care has shored up the Provincial Department of Health's standards, which constitute its service provision norms for the public health facilities, she said. "Both National Care Standards and the Ideal Clinic programmes are relatively young and new in the Western Cape. But good progress has been made on both fronts, even though many facilities still fall short of the targets. In general, larger metro facilities have fared better in this regard and smaller rural ones worse. We are working with districts to continually improve all our facilities."
As the department we have identified alcohol consumption as that which constitutes our game changer. "Alcohol-related harm has been identified as a major social determinant within the province, and as a game changer for inter-sectoral collaboration. Our key focus areas involve the closure of illegal shebeens, the provision of alternative economic activities for shebeen owners, and the improvement of recreational facilities as alternative activities for the youth."
We also pay much attention to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and in this regard we now move from curative to wellness to prevent further complications. She went on to state the cause of NCDs.
"NCDs are caused by unhealthy eating and obesity, lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol abuse. Research shows significant proportions of undiagnosed, untreated and poorly controlled instances of NCDs. This creates service pressures to hospitals and public health care facilities. This requires a holistic and comprehensive approach from prevention and promotion of curative and rehabilitation interventions."
She said the preventive strategies of NCDs include the upstream efforts to address societal factors as well as downstream factors such as screening, early diagnosis and adherence to treatment. "Health is everyone's business, we should all come up with suggestions and strategies to improve and attain quality health services," she said.
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