Published 4 January 2016
In a bid to improve the quality of health services delivered to communities in Gauteng, the Government, through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), is currently training 40 young people in pharmacy assistant learnership programme. Upon graduation these young people will be placed at various Government hospitals, clinics and even in private institution such as Clicks Pharmacy and Dischem to assist in the dispensary of medicines to the patients in the Province.
The 12 month training programme which started in April 2015 is an initiative by the Gauteng Department of Health. The National Department of Public Works is the coordinator of the programme. Upon completion of the programme these youngsters will have a National Certificate in Pharmacist Assistant. The course is offered by the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) which is accredited by the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA).
This course is at National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 3. “These young people will contribute in our commitment to improving the delivery of health services to our patients. For instance due to the stigma attached to HIV/Aids some of our people do not want to go to clinics to get their medication. These young people will assist the Department in taking medication to these patients in their communities and in their homes,” Ms Barbara Dladla of the Gauteng District Health Services said.
Speaking on the side-line of the induction of these learners held on 15 April 2015 at the Chamber of Mines Building in Marshaltown in Johannesburg, Ms Dladla explained that the programme was initially proposed in 2009 when the Department noted a challenge in the roll out of Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to HIV positive patients in the Province. “We had a serious shortage of pharmacists at the time. So we decided to train our community health care workers to become pharmacy assistants in an effort to reinforce our work of dispensing medication to our patients. Most of these community health care workers are attached to various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that are already involved in rendering community health services within the Province,” she explained. The Director of EPWP Beneficiary Training, Ms Cinderella Makunike urged the EPWP participants to work hard to ensure that they graduated. “We respect you for being part of EPWP. I can clearly see that you will be committed to the success of this programme. Please respect and take full advantage of this opportunity to make your lives better. You are the chosen ones because of all the people who are out there are looking for such opportunities, you succeeded in getting into this programme,” she added. “We have EPWP programmes all over the country in various sectors of our society. We have programmes in construction, we have people working in hospitals, we have plumbers, and we even have fire fighters. The EPWP is a huge programme geared at eradicating poverty through creating work opportunities for our people,” Ms Makunike said.
She pointed out that the element of training and skills development was critical in the implementation of the EPWP.