The burden of illness from Covid-19 is predicted to peak in July or August 2020. It is now late May 2020. How best can the SA healthcare sector use all its resources and assets in the Covid-19 emergency? The challenge is that the system is already highly strained, with disconnected structures that offer uneven and fragmented care. This impacts severely on patient outcomes. We can and must address that central weakness now.
If the sector is to make a significant contribution, a creative and sustainable response lies in quickly establishing functional models and structures that efficiently utilise the current assets, that bridges the disconnect and is affordable for the country.
It requires two key team-based strategies, namely bridging the public-private gap, and vertically integrating the system……more