The viability of a national healthcare system for South Africa : a KwaZulu-Natal case study.

Abstract

This research is an endeavour to highlight the state of healthcare in South Africa as seen through the eyes of professional health care workers who are at the cold face of healthcare. Having worked in an environment of inequities and unjust circumstances, healthcare workers expressed their attitudes and beliefs that healthcare are in need of radical change. There appears to be insight from these professionals that the private and public healthcare sectors should forge a relationship, ultimately benefiting South African society. More research needs to be done on a major scale to determine more deeply the attitudes and beliefs of healthcare professionals. Such an endeavour will provide a stimulus for policymakers to harness this energy and direct it in a meaningful way in the transformation of healthcare in South Africa. Chapter 1 focused on several relevant perspectives and definitions on healthcare in South Africa and other countries. In Chapter 2, attention was given to socio-economic rights as per the South African Constitution and the states obligations to fulfil these rights. These rights were examined in the context of landmark Constitutional Court cases, viz. Soobramoney versus the State; TAC versus the State; and Grootboom versus the State. These cases give one the essence of interpreting rights and the constitutional obligation of the state to deliver on them. Healthcare developments in South Africa and other countries together with the RDP and GEAR considerations are outlined in Chapter 3. Research Methodology is outlined in Chapter 4, emphasizing also the limitations of this study. Chapter 5 examines the responses to the questionnaires and analyses its findings. Chapter 6 provides the conclusions and recommendations as well as a critique of healthcare in South Africa.