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14 June 2019 | Story Eloise Calitz
University Consortium Launch
From left: Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, University of the Free State; Prof Pagollang Motloba, Chairperson of the Universities Consortium Steering Committee (Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University); Ms Montseng Margaret Ts’Iu, MEC, Department of Health in the Free State Province; and Mr Dan Mosia, Project Management Unit, Wits Health Consortium and member of the UFS Council.
Access to health care is important to all South Africans. Improved delivery of health-care services and employment of health-care graduates is one of the key priorities of the Universities Consortium. To achieve this, the National Department of Health (NDoH) – through a closed bid – invited universities with health-science faculties to bid for the testing of contracting mechanisms in the public health-care sector.

The bid brought six universities together to form the Universities Consortium. Through a collaborative approach, they will implement the newly developed service-delivery model.  Within the next three years, the consortium aims to impact the communities they serve in a positive way by providing much needed health-care services across the nine provinces.

The Universities Consortium comprises:

• University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
• Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University
• University of Fort Hare
• University of Pretoria
• Nelson Mandela University
• University of the Free State

The launch

The launch of the consortium was held on 6 June 2019 in the Centenary Complex at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. This provided an opportunity for fruitful engagements with representatives from the consortium. The launch was attended by the MEC of Health in  the Free State Province, Ms Montseng Margaret Ts’lu, who welcomed the commitment of the universities in the consortium and thanked them for lending a helping hand to make sure that government succeed in providing these health services.

Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, said the role of the university is to educate, train, and do continuous research to keep up to date with developments in various disciplines in order to enable positive change in the quality of life in our society. "Our knowledge should be used to impact our communities," Prof Petersen said. He further stated that it would be important that the ideas generated would provide much needed access to health care for all South Africans.

 The purpose of the Universities Consortium

1. The Universities Consortium will support national health delivery by assisting in the employment of graduates providing services while they complete their statutory internships/community service period.  
2. The consortium will also provide administrative and technical support to the NDoH. 
3. Universities will train professionals in accredited facilities.
4. The Universities Consortium proposed an operating model that will ensure the placement of health professionals in academic primary-care complexes.  
5. To align with the objectives of the NHI Bill 2018, the model envisages the academic primary-care complex as a contracting unit to promote sustainable, equitable, appropriate, efficient, and effective public funding for the purchasing of health-care services.
6. Wits Health Consortium (WHC), a wholly owned company of the University of the Witwatersrand, will support the Universities Consortium with key project management, financial, and administrative support for the duration of the project.

One of the key drivers of success for the Universities Consortium is collaboration and the effective implementation of this model. In the long term, the model will have a significant impact on health-care service delivery and job creation in this sector.

WATCH: NHI Universities Consortium Launch

News Archive

UFS council elects Nwaila and Hancke
2005-03-15

Dr Charles Nwaila, Superintendent-General of Education in the Free State, was elected Vice-chairperson of the UFS Council and Judge Faan Hancke was re-elected as Chairperson today.

According to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, the election of Dr Nwaila is an important achievement for the UFS as Dr Nwaila is a well known leader in education in the Free State.

Dr Nwaila pledged to work constructively with the UFS council and management to ensure that the UFS benefits all people of the province and the country.

The appointments are valid for a term of three years from 1 June 2005 to 31 May 2008.

The elections took place at the quarterly meeting of the UFS Council where a number of other key transformation steps were approved.

The Council approved a Strategic Plan for the UFS which reflects a renewed focus on transformation of the institution, calling it an important roadmap for the future of the UFS.

According to Prof Fourie, the Strategic Plan tried strike a balance between continuity and change, addressing the need to remain an excellent university in an ever-changing context and environment.

Prof Fourie said transformation had many aspects and dimensions and could not be reduced to an issue of numbers.

The Strategic Plan identifies five strategic priorities and corresponding challenges in the next phase of transformation.

The priorities are:

  • quality and excellence

  • equity, diversity and redress

  • financial sustainability

  • regional co-operation and engagement.

  • outward thrust

Prof Fourie said that besides the five strategic priorities the plan also reflected concrete actions and interventions to address them.

He said the renewed focus on transformation is embedded in the priorities and specific actions that are identified.

The Council congratulated the management for the roadmap and for the achievements that have already been achieved in terms of transformation.

In order to draft a comprehensive Transformation Plan that will give substance to certain aspects of the UFS Strategic plan – or roadmap – the Council approved the establishment of a Transformation Plan Team.

The team will consist of about 16 people, which includes the two coordinators, Prof Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector: Academic Operations, and Dr Ezekiel Moraka, Vice-Rector: Student Affairs.

According to Prof Verschoor, the team was chosen and approved by the Executive Management earlier for the individual contributions that they could make.

While the individuals do not represent particular constituencies on campus they are a very diverse group of persons in terms of race, gender and various sections of the campus and the satellite campuses.

Prof Fourie, said there was an urgency and importance attached to the work of the Transformation Plan Team.

He said that while the team must produce a plan within a tight deadline, the task must be carried out very well, which could mean different stages in the work of the team.

According to the Rector, the UFS must take the lead in best practice transformation, while not underestimating the complexity of the issues facing the UFS.

The full list of names will be finalized soon.

MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by: Mnr Anton Fisher
Director: Strategic Communication
Cel: 072 207 8334
Tel: (051) 401-2749
11 Maart 2005

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