As we celebrate Heritage Month in September, it is worth considering the legacy we leave for future generations.
In particular, the social and economic foundations we build for our families and communities – and when it comes to mining communities, one of the most enduring legacies is access to quality healthcare.
This investment comes in the form of training nurses from within the local communities and also recruiting within these communities.
After training, we provide these nurses with direct employment or, when there are no vacancies, we have at least given them the skills to work within their own communities and improve the overall access to healthcare in these regions.
A great example of how we have built such heritage is one of my favourite success stories: a security guard at one of our clinics was so passionate about assisting people that he would come to our facilities to help of his own volition.
Recognising his deep desire to help his community, we decided to provide him with training, and he is now an enrolled nurse at one of our community facilities.
When it comes to health, we recognise that prevention is better than cure, so we promote health education within mining communities and run campaigns on early disease detection, so conditions can be treated before they become major problems.
This helps to reduce medical costs downstream.
From the perspective of these members, early detection and correct diagnosis positively affect their wellbeing, as well as that of their families and broader communities.
The earlier we treat them, the better for their wellbeing; if they are healthy, they can potentially work more shifts, earn more money for their families, and thus spend more within their communities, improving the overall local economy.
We’ve also established numerous clinics close to those areas where the mining communities reside – either at the mines themselves, or in the shopping centres servicing these communities – which makes for relatively easy access for most members.
This matters because when healthcare is easily accessible, patients miss fewer appointments, and it is also simpler for our staff to conduct follow-ups when required.
When treatment is not delayed, it reduces downstream healthcare expenses; because the clinics are positioned near the communities we serve, we can help them manage health issues quickly, easily, and more cost-effectively.
Health and fitness go hand in hand: a healthy employee must also be fit, and a fit employee is more productive.
By encouraging fitness, employees are more effective, resulting in fewer sick notes and greater contributions to bonuses.
This means fit employees are better positioned to support their families.
It is vital to ensure our communities remain healthy and fit, as these people are more productive, earn more, and can better look after their children’s wellbeing.
In this way, they can provide more effectively for their future and build a heritage their children can be proud of.
In the future, the Department of Health should work closely with medical schemes to focus on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that they can play a part in achieving – notably those around poverty eradication and health education.
To this end, the mines employ people from these communities, helping to achieve the goal of poverty eradication, while medical schemes – thanks to early disease detection and building and staffing clinics to provide the services these communities need, as well as by offering bursaries to those within the communities – can address the health education SDG.
Ultimately, many mining families have worked in the industry for generations, and we need to build on that heritage.
Strong healthcare is key to South Africa’s future, so we will continue to leverage its heritage of delivering quality health services to maintain and build on the strong heritage within our mining communities.
