By SABC Radio

Copyright sabcnews

South African Human Rights and Social Justice Activist, Mark Heywood says the country’s healthcare system has reached a crisis point and requires immediate government intervention.

This comes as the country’s public health system faces a worsening crisis with staff shortages, shrinking budgets and mounting debt.

Heywood has outlined some of the factors contributing to the deteriorating healthcare system.

“We have a perfect storm facing hospitals and the health system as a whole. There is rising demand based on rising disease, particularly non-communicable diseases. At the same time, there has been a decade of declining per capita expenditure on the public healthcare system. Hospitals have very poor management and administration because they are places where quite often political appointees have been put in rather than people competent of running complex management systems. Linked to that, there is out-of-control corruption,” says Heywood.

VIDEO | SA’s healthcare system facing a huge crisis