Dr Madigele vows to clean health system

Dr Alfred Madigele is excited to be appointed Minister of Health and Wellness and as a Medical Doctor, he has seen a lot of loopholes in the health sector which he is raring to close and improve service in government hospitals. Speaking to The Midweek Sun a day after he was sworn in as health minister, Madigele said among the issues that needs to be addressed in the health sector is the referral system to South Africa as the government is spending a lot of money on these referrals. “We need more specialists in the country because these referrals are siphoning a lot of funds from our coffers. We don’t need to change any policy but we have to review these cases and make sure we have the return on investment,” said Madigele.

He said there seems to be poor service in the public hospitals because employees have low morale and this is another challenge that needs to be properly dealt with. “Staff welfare is very important; we need to focus on improving our staff welfare. When employees are not happy they will not render good service” said Madigele. He pointed out that many people are excited that he is back in the ministry as a minister and he is going to take advantage of this opportunity to relate well with the employees and improve their morale. “I am happy because many people are excited that I am back in the ministry.

So I will make sure that I use this opportunity to boost their attitude to work. Service in hospitals is not poor because we are understaffed, we have enough employees, they just need motivation”. Poor infrastructure is another challenge facing the ministry. Dr Madigele is committed to ensuring that there is a good infrastructure in place across all public hospitals and clinics. “There is an issue of poor infrastructure, shortage of facilities or poor functioning of boilers, I will ensure there are proper facilities and infrastructure in place,” he said.Dr Madigele studied his degree in Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Ireland. He then worked in Ireland for a year and came back home to work at Princess Marina Hospital. After a year at Princess Marina he joined private practice where he served for 10 years. Dr Madigele runs Health Synergy, a company that specialises in health consultancy and corporate medicine.