A Treasury grant is the best model to fund the state’s lab service, CEO says
Acting NHLS head Shabir Madhi says the service has not been able to invest in new equipment owing to the nonpayment of services by the provinces
The best way to optimally fund the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) would be for the Department of Health to have a budget allocated to the service.This is the view of the acting CEO of the NHLS‚ Prof Shabir Madhi‚ whose organisation has been hit by a strike‚ resulting in a near total-shutdown of its laboratories.The NHLS‚ Africa’s largest laboratory service‚ has been in crisis‚ long before last week’s strike.It is owed billions by provincial health departments‚ operating on outdated equipment as a result. Senior staff are leaving because of financial uncertainty and there is a backlog of some tests.And there is instability in the management ranks as both the CEO‚ Joyce Mogale‚ and chief financial officer‚ Sikhumbuzo Zulu‚ were suspended in February while two other managers resigned before they were due to face disciplinary hearings in July.In addition to that‚ the head of procurement and the facility manager at the service had cases opened against them for corruption. Both...
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