16

Fromapatientperspective,our

women’s

greatest

needs

are

simple

–tohaveadequatetimewith

theirdoctorsornurses,betreatedas
partnersinthemanagementoftheir
conditionsandhaveaccessto
affordable,

high

quality

care.

Kindness,compassionandempathy
areconsistentlyrankedasthemost
valuedtraitsinhealthcareworkers
andmostwomenexpressedthe
needtohavetheirfamiliesinvolved
intheircareplans.Thosewith
medicalaidsexplicitlystatedthat
theywantnoout-of-pocketpayments
andseeminglyendlessadministrative
hurdlestojumpthrough.

An

establishedrelationshipwitha

trustedgeneralpractitioner

is

repeatedlyemphasizedtobeacore
elementofholisticcareandmany
SouthAfricanwomenhopethatthis
relationshipcanmoveoutofthe
traditionalsettingofthedoctor’s

surgery,intothesocialmedia,web
ormobilespaces.Convenienceand
speedtoengagementarekeyto
patientsatisfaction.Patientsarenot
interestedinaggregatestatisticsand
complicatedhealthcaremodels–
theycareaboutreceivingquick,
appropriatecarefromcliniciansthey
cantrust.

From

a

healthcare

worker

perspective

,

mostdoctors,nurses

andalliedhealthcareprofessionals
(psychologists/physiotherapists/occu-
pational

health

therapists

etc.)

expressedtheirdesiretohavemore
timewiththeirpatients,moretime
with

their

own

families,

less

administrative

hassle

and

fair

compensationfortheirskilland
expertise.Theyhopefortheir
patientstobemorehonestand
straight

forward

with

them,

particularlywithregardstotheuseof
herbalmedicinesorhomeremedies.

Many

admitted

that

they

feel

pressurised

into

giving

patients

antibioticsunnecessarily,inorderto
meettheirpatients’expectationsand
justifythefeeoftheconsultation.

Our

SouthAfricanfemaleclinicians

arealsointerestedinhavingclean,
safe,comfortableworkingconditions
andequipmentthatisadequately
maintainedandoperational.They
commonlyfeelisolatedandmany
wouldprefertoworkinateam
structure,ifthiswaspossible.
Performanceincentives,mentorship
andopportunitiestolearnandgrow
intheirfieldswerecitedaskey
driversfortheseprofessionals,as
wellastechnologyenablers,suchas
electronichealthrecords,evidence-
basedreferencedatabasesandsocial
mediaplatforms.

“May your choices reflect 

your hopes, not your 

fears” Madiba 

Leaving a legacy in our health sector we 

can all be proud of in South Africa. If we do 

not define the future and understand that 

change has to start at some point, who will? 

It is important we all take accountability, so 

that our children can benefit from what 

others are unable to access today”.

Antoinette Irvine  (Vice President Human 

Resources -Africa Unilever Cluster)

“