As an alternative to NHI, a swifter solution for South Africa’s healthcare issues could potentially come from more collaboration between the private sector and the government, Netcare has suggested, arguing this could quickly resolve some of the most pressing problems in public healthcare.
These include long waiting times for procedures and a shortage of training posts for doctors and nurses.
Business and the government launched a pact in June 2023 in which they agreed to work together to restore public and investor confidence by addressing constraints to economic growth in three key areas: energy, logistics, and crime and corruption. Netcare now wants to add a fourth.
“We think there could be similar collaboration (on) healthcare,” Netcare CEO Richard Friedland told Business Day this week.
His comments come as business and the government wrestle with the NHI Act, which is currently squaring up to three separate legal challenges – from medical schemes, trade union Solidarity and medical specialists.
And while Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi forges ahead with laying the groundwork to implement NHI, President Cyril Ramaphosa is contemplating a confidential alternative proposal from Business Unity SA (Busa).
Solution to issues
“We face a stark choice between the low road and the high road. The low road is that various parties go to court and this process is stuck there for five to 10 years, and the high road is that our president galvanises the resources, the know-how and the infrastructure of the private sector with the public sector, and we find a solution to our healthcare issues,” said Friedland.
“There are solutions that allow us to begin that process now: that’s the choice that faces us.”
Netcare had extensive experience contracting with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) which could be brought to bear in SA, he said, adding that such deals would have to be commercially viable. The company secured several five-year contracts from the British government in the early 2000s to provide ophthalmic and orthopaedic surgical procedures to NHS patients.
It contracted with the NHS again after it acquired a stake in the UK hospital business General Healthcare Group in 2006.
Friedland’s proposal was welcomed by Business for SA (B4SA), a business organisation formed during the pandemic that includes the Black Business Council, and Busa.
“Our approach to addressing the challenges in the sector is to maximise the scope for business-government collaboration,” said B4SA chair Martin Kingston.
“The current partnership approach is founded on alignment between the parties where the private sector can assist and play a role. That has yet to emerge with health,” he said.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Busa and Health Department have ‘constructive’ meeting on NHI
Three possible future scenarios for NHI