DA welcomes new CEO of Bara Hospital

10 January 2019

The DA welcomes the appointment of Dr Nkele Lesia as the new CEO of the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

This appointment is long overdue as the hospital has been without a permanent CEO for three years since former Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu removed the previous CEO for unexplained reasons.

Dr Lesia will be in charge of a R3 billion budget and 6000 employees.

I hope that she provides the necessary strong leadership to rebuild morale at the hospital and fix deep-rooted problems that adversely affect the quality of patient care.

A major priority should be reducing the waiting times for surgery which have increased alarmingly e.g. three to five years for a hip operation.

Ultimately, only a DA-led government in Gauteng can bring the kind of change that ensures all the province’s healthcare facilities are led by the best and treat our people with dignity.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 10 January 2019