National Health Insurance (NHI) session at UJ
The state of healthcare in South Africa is very worrying and we need to begin to make big changes in order to ensure that we can better our system. One of the possibilities is that of National Health Insurance (NHI) which could potentially give all South Africans access to healthcare.
There are three key questions which we need to ask ourselves when approaching NHI. Firstly, what does universal health care mean for you and what would it look like? Some of the answers to this question include access to affordable, good quality health care; having all illnesses treated with the proper facilities and a shift in the mind set of people which would mean a focus on prevention rather than treatment.
Secondly, we need to ask ourselves what are some key steps we can take (as individuals) to encourage universal healthcare coverage? A big aspect of this would be the above mentioned mind set shift which would change the focus to prevention and wellness. In order to do this we need to conscientise others about how they can change their lifestyle and be more focused on prevention. It is also notable that we should not stigmatize illness, and rather be aware of what one is vulnerable to. Change could also be brought about through a restructuring of the healthcare profession whereby we delegate functions to other healthcare professionals meaning more health professionals.
Thirdly, it must be asked what can be done at a macro-scale to encourage universal healthcare coverage in (South) Africa? Both the government and private sector are still responsible for providing health care and will have to play their part. There should be a focus by the private sector as well as government on infrastructure development and companies should focus on the coverage of their own workers’ health within their companies. This would help the shift towards creating a culture of wellness. There should also be a change to the way that healthcare professionals are trained with more focus on nutrition and continuous and holistic training.
In looking at these three questions we begin to see what needs to change in order to create a better healthcare system. These are not all the answers but are the beginning of a process of change. We have to be aware that healthcare is central to everything, when you are sick you can’t work or study or function and you become a burden on others. Therefore this is something that affects us all and it is in everyone’s interests to have a healthy country. NHI is a journey and it won’t just happen overnight, we need to make small changes over time to improve the overall healthcare landscape. We need to support an increase in infrastructure and shift in education so we can be informed and discuss health issues and find solutions.
We are always waiting for others to share the knowledge about healthcare but we are probably more informed than the next person. We don’t have to be qualified in health to share our basic knowledge about health and wellness with our friends and family who may not be as exposed to this knowledge. It is important to realise that you living your life and valuing it brings so much more to those around you observing your life. There is so much we can do to inform and empower people and we must, because NHI won’t happen if we don’t all play our part.