From Tuesday, health care services at public facilities will be offered free of charge to disabled people, Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said.
”This is part of government’s effort to expand services to our people in need of social support, as announced by the President [Thabo Mbeki] during the state of the nation address in February this year,” she said in a statement.
The categories of people who would benefit included:
those with permanent, moderate or severe disability, including, among others, people who move with difficulty and cannot continuously walk between 10m and 200m on their own; those who cannot dress or eat on their own; and those with communication problems, and vision and hearing difficulties;
those who have been diagnosed with chronic irreversible psychiatric disability. Such patients would qualify irrespective of the fluctuation in their mental state; and,
frail, older people and long term institutionalised state subsidised patients.
The minister said a ”standardised assessment tool” had been developed, and would be used in all provinces to classify beneficiaries.
Those not entitled to the free service included individuals with temporary disabilities, or a chronic illness that did not cause substantial loss of functional ability; and disabled people who are employed and/or covered by relevant health insurance, Road Accident Fund and Workman’s Compensation.
”I encourage people with disability to visit their nearest public hospitals and make use of these services,” Tshabalala-Msimang said. – Sapa