The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) government will build 24-hour integrated post-sexual trauma centres in all district hospitals for urgent medical, forensic, psychological, and social assistance, party leader Julius Malema said, should his party win the elections.
Malema was addressing a packed EFF's manifesto launch at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.
He said the centres would be directly linked to policing and directive directorates. "These centres will be in every ward, and prioritising the training, remuneration, support, and retention of staff will be a priority," he added.
Malema outlined his plans to revive the healthcare system in the country after assuming office.
Among other plans to improve health quality, he said his government would ensure that no one was left behind and all people would get health benefits.
The EFF plans to have specialist hospitals that will operate 24 hours, with 450 consisting of internal medicine, paediatrics, obstetrics, gynaecology, and general surgeons, trauma teams, mental health and drug detox and rehabilitation centres, LGBTIQA-specific healthcare, and palliative health services.
He promised that his government would develop a regulatory environment for digital health governance to ensure equality, non-discrimination, participation, transparency, and accountability in design, artificial intelligence adoption in health, and overall digital tools implementation.
However, he mentioned that his party would not tolerate illegal activities in the health sector as a result of the government’s policies to ensure that people were able to obtain medical treatment freely.
This included implementing strict measures against nurses who breached patient confidentiality or engaged in the theft of medications, upholding the highest standards of professional conduct and trust in healthcare settings.
"The EFF government will police, investigate, and prosecute all illegal advertisements of medical procedures or organ sales, illegal health facilities, and illegal providers of healthcare," he said.
He further said the healthcare institutions, doctors’ rooms, and medical schools would work to reverse the impact of racism on everyone, including medical staff and the broader society.
In addition, Malema said each province would have a health sciences campus, inclusive of a nursing school and medical school.
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
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