Tag Archives: the Northern Cape MEC for Health

Lekwene appoints Provincial Task Team to monitor implementation of Ombudsman report

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Picture: The Northern Cape MEC for Health, Maruping Lekwene

By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

3 August 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Health, Maruping Lekwene said he welcomes the investigation report presented and officially handed over to the Department by the Health Onbudsman. Lekwene said following the official release of the investigation report, they are moving expeditiously with the immediate appointment of a Provincial Task Team, as outlined in the Health Ombudsman’s report to monitor the implementation of the recommendations that will improve the overall safety and quality of patient care.

He further said he will personally oversee the implementation of this comprehensive plan and provide regular updates to the Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, EXCO, Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and all statutory bodies on progress made since the release of the investigation report. Lekwene added that a dedicated task team will be appointed immediately to track progress against all defined actions and timelines.

“We will review monthly reports from NCMHH and RMSH CEOs and Provincial Department Head. Ensure timely financial reporting in accordance with the PFMA. Engage regularly with the OHSC and Mental Health Review Boards on compliance and patient outcomes.

“The officials that have findings against them will be sanctioned and disciplined in accordance with the report. This includes clinical staff at both the Mental Health and Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe hospitals,” he said.

Lekwene said the actions to be taken, includes reporting them to their professional bodies such as the health professions council. He said the department is in the process of concluding its investigations into the specific transactions and procurement that the Ombudsman has found as suspect and include exaggerated costs.

“The department will indeed ensure that thorough review of the clinical governance guidelines and SOP’s are undertaken at both affected hospitals. It is important that all hospitals in the province take the lessons that are proffered by the Ombudsman.

“As the department, we remain committed to fully operationalizing the Mental Health Hospital and other facilities. We continue to do so, bearing in mind that the challenge of plenty of needs and limited resources is universal, especially in the health sector where the supply and demand is always asymmetrical,” said Lekwene.

He said they shall ensure that there are no gaps of accountability and below par performance in the commitments that they make to the people. Lekwene said they shall certainly ensure that they shape things up.

“We intend to realise the commitment to overhaul the administration for effective and efficient performance. Within the coming week, following the release of the final report we shall take decisive action against some of the officials named in the report including the referral to professional bodies.

“We will zoom into the plunder and mismanagement of public resources and them out. We will make a cogent case for adequate resourcing of health services in the department. The process of reviewing contracts that are deemed not beneficial to the department is moving forward apace as top priority,” he said.

Lekwene said it is for this reason that the department in consultation with Provincial Treasury, will look into the appointment of a forensic investigation team to lead the forensic investigation on all procurement processes at the hospital as concluded. He said they have an approved organisational structure, which is aligned to the new strategic plan, with a cogent and practical plan to recruit, develop and train the requisite human resources.

“It is important to note what the report highlights that financial austerity will be one of the factors that are listed as having contributed to the state of our facilities. The report also makes it patently clear that mismanagement and malfeasance is a factor.

“All of these are material in terms of health outcomes. We are hugely regretful for the lives lost under these circumstances, including the challenges experienced at the Mental Hospital,” said Lekwene.

He said these affected both patients and staff and one may include the general public. Lekwene said this includes long periods for which there was no power supply as a result of vandalism. 

“The report of the Ombudsman opens further space for quality improvement and decisive action that will strengthen the citizens’ belief in the public health sector. This is imperative because we are the sole provider of health services for the majority of the citizens of our province.

“Our duty is to ensure that we serve them with dignity and a great deal of duty of care throughout the chain of levels within the health system,” he said.

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Two patients died in NC hospitals due to negligence 

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Picture: Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital

By BAKANG MOKOTO 

30 July 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Health, Maruping Lekwene said they acknowledge receipt of the comprehensive investigation report from the Office of the Health Ombudsman regarding incidents at the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital and Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital. 

This comes after the Health Ombud released investigation findings into psychiatric patients in the Northern Cape hospitals. The health ombud, Professor Taole Mokoena said they were investigating the treatment, complications and deaths of psychiatric patients at the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital and the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital. 

Mokoena said this investigation addresses cases involving the death of two patients and inadequate medical care for another.

“The investigation was initiated following a complaint lodged by the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi against the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital in Kimberley in October 2024. We found that the general care provided at the two institutions was ‘substandard’ with two patients dying and another left bedridden following brain surgery.

“These incidents occurred in July and August 2024, were investigated in terms of Section 81A (11) of the National Health Amendment Act, 2013. The report revealed gross mismanagement, failure to provide urgent medical care, lack of functional equipment, and extreme infrastructural deficiencies,” he said.

Mokoena further said one of the patients, Cyprian Mohoto, was transferred from NCMHH to RMSH on 13 July 2024, with a suspected abdominal obstruction. He added that the tests showed he had pneumonia, which went untreated for three days until his death. 

“Another patient, Tshepo Mdimbaza was found unresponsive in bed at NCMHH on 3 August 2024. Resuscitation was delayed due to non-functional equipment. The resuscitation process was delayed due to the unavailability, malfunction, or unpreparedness of resuscitation equipment.

“A post-mortem determined he died from exposure to the elements. Petrus De Bruin collapsed at NCMHH on 30 July 2024, and was transferred to RMSH. The medical care and investigations conducted in the Emergency Centre were appropriate. However, the monitoring by nursing personnel was found to be inadequate,” he said.

Mokoena said the fourth patient, John Louw, was diagnosed with an acute subdural haemorrhage. He said Louw underwent craniotomy and craniectomy procedures and was returned to NCMHH on 28 October 2024. 

“He currently remains bedridden,” said Mokoena. 

Meanwhile, Lekwene said his department welcomes this thorough investigation by Mokoena. He said the department takes these findings very seriously and is committed to ensuring the highest standards of patient care and safety across all its healthcare facilities. 

“We will be conducting a comprehensive study of the Health Ombudsman’s findings and recommendations. The department is committed to thoroughly studying all findings and recommendations contained in the report. 

“Developing implementation plans to ensure accountability and transparency throughout this process. Prioritizing patient safety and quality of care in all our facilities

The department recognizes the critical importance of mental health services and the vulnerability of psychiatric patients,” said Lekwene. 

He said they are dedicated to implementing necessary improvements to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Lekwene said his department once again extends its condolences to the families affected by these tragic incidents and reaffirms their commitment to providing safe, quality healthcare services to all residents of the Northern Cape.

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Northern Cape MEC for Health to ensure effective access to healthcare services  

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Picture: The Northern Cape MEC for Health, Maruping Lekwene

By REGINALD KANYANE

18 June 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Health, Maruping Lekwene said his department’s continued efforts are underway to ensure effective access to healthcare services, quality of service standards and responsiveness to community needs and efficiency in the system. Lekwene said his department works tirelessly towards improving and sustaining the ideal healthcare status of facilities throughout the province.

Lekwene further said this noteworthy move, as informed by the ‘Ideal Health Facilities Realisation and Maintenance (IHFRM) Programme’, aims at ensuring that all public health facilities meet specific norms and standards, which among others include suitable infrastructure, adequate medical and surgical supplies and efficient administrative processes for the provision of quality healthcare services to the communities. He added that, as part of the department’s strategy to monitor the implementation of this important programme, they have launched support visits to the Madoyle and Phuthanang clinics in the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality.

“These are two of the six facilities previously identified by the department for the implementation of the Bokamoso Digitisation Pilot Project, which seeks to implement the provincial e-Health strategy, to enhance service delivery and to improve patient experience in our facilities.

“Over and above the rehabilitation and upgrading of the facilities infrastructure, the department has implemented a fully integrated approach for the provision of equitable and sustainable health services in public facilities,” said Lekwene.

He said factors such as health technology, management and personnel, remain an integral part of this important programme. Lekwene said that will ensure the facilities are able to meet the required level of care and ensure universal health coverage. 

“In the last financial year, our department conducted ideal status determination for 159 out of 161 facilities. During the same period under review, the Ideal Clinic Status programme improved from 75 in the last quarter of 2024, to 84 in the first quarter of 2025.

“Five facilities achieved silver, eight achieved Gold and 71achieved platinum. A total of 41 public health facilities have been accredited by Office of Health Standards and Compliance (OHSC),” he said.

Lekwene said it is important to note that not all facilities have been assessed by the Office of Health Standards and Compliance in our province. He said the Ideal Health Facility Realization and Maintenance Framework and OHSC tool are aligned for all required domains.

“Furthermore, the department internally established the Permanent Perfect Teams for Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance Technical Working Group (PPTICRM/TWG) Committee.

“The purpose of this committee is to work towards improving our performance in attaining ideal clinic/facility status and its maintenance,” said Lekwene.

He said this will be done through understanding the ideal facility framework, periodic analysis of the ideal performance against targets, provision of strategic guidance to districts, lobbying resources from related stakeholders and making recommendations for additional resource mobilization based on the critical situation analysis of each district. Lekwene said the Centralised Chronic Medication Distribution and Dispensation (CCMDD) programme is continuing well with over 118 000 chronic patients registered on the programme.

“The aim of this programme is to decant stable chronic patients from our healthcare facilities by means of allocating their pre-packed medication for collection at the closest facilities identified as pickup points.

“It is for this reason that the department wants to ensure that patients access quality health services at their convenience in terms of choice and time. Following these support visits, the Executive Management will be visiting public healthcare facilities in the Phokwane Local Municipality to monitor the Contracting Unit for the Primary Health Care project,” he said.

Lekwene said this project is to test the implementation of the capitation payment model for primary healthcare through a proof-of-concept phase, which will be used to test NHI policies, systems and processes on the ground. He said the project also aims to assess the practicability and scalability of the designated elements for a CUP, while identifying opportunities for variation and enhancement before further rollout to other districts.

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