WSU & ECDOH PARTNERSHIP TO ADDRESS HEALTHCARE GAP IN RURAL EC

In a groundbreaking move towards redefining the landscape of healthcare delivery, WSU has embarked on a pioneering partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Health, aimed at decentralizing medical specialists and enhancing accessibility to expert healthcare services.

The collaborative initiative, guided by the Academic Governance Committee (AGC), is set to transform the way medical expertise are accessed, to address long-standing issues of healthcare inequality and geographical limitations in Eastern Cape rural areas.

“It is a pleasure for us to be part of an initiative that will play a part in the improvement of the Eastern Cape’s (EC) healthcare and service provision. As the faculty, we aim to open our facilities and extend our teaching and learning services to support the decentralisation of specialist for rural and urban areas,” said Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Prof Thozama Dubula.

Amongst its responsibilities, the AGC will oversee the development of sustainable, equitable, and affordable primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary healthcare services in the province, including matters of resource mobilisation in the teaching and learning platform.

“Our efforts are in the hopes that the level of healthcare that we provide in our rural facilities will be of high quality, and will be tailored to address the unique challenges faced by our EC community,” said Dubula.

The operation forms part of the long-standing “Joint Staff Establishment” between WSU and ECDOH, to produce future-ready graduates that will deliver quality healthcare within the EC province.

In a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed at the East London Health Resource Centre in July of this year, both parties concurring to the following terms:

• promote the provision of high-quality academic healthcare programs,
• ensure the efficient, cost-effective, and appropriate utilisation of available resources,
• provide platforms for research and innovation to realise interventions for the strengthening of health services and improved health outcomes.

The signing was followed by the inauguration of the AGC and pledge signing ceremony at St Elizabeth Hospital, Health Resource Centre in Lusikisiki in August.

Delivering her keynote address at the ceremony, MEC for DOH, Nomakhosazana Meth said, “the recent signing of the 10-year memorandum of agreement between Walter Sisulu University and the Eastern Cape Department of Health, signalled the beginning of great initiatives on programmes for academic development towards strengthening health services delivery in our province,”

Medical services will encompass an array of specialities, including Oncology, Renal Dialysis, Paediatric & Child Health, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, and Radiology.

While the Academic services will include undergraduate training, rural clinical school, health professional’s specialist training, clinical and public health research, emergency medical services college, amongst others.

By Ongezwa Sigodi