Western Cape Government Health Honours Dedicated Staff at Long Service Awards | Western Cape Government

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Western Cape Government Health Honours Dedicated Staff at Long Service Awards

28 March 2013

Dedicated employees, who have been working for Western Cape Government Health for 20, 30 and 40 years, were honoured at a special Long Service Awards Ceremony today for their uninterrupted and devoted public service. The event was held at the Nico Malan Hall at Groote Schuur Hospital.

The annual ceremony recognizes the staff who work tirelessly to make sure that patients receive the best care. 

This year, from the Head Office alone, 72 staff members received long service awards – 34 staff members were awarded for 20 years, 35 staff members for 30 years and 3 staff members for 40 years of service.

In his key note address the Western Cape Minister of Health, Theuns Botha, said: "The many years of their lives that people dedicate to this department, certainly reflects their commitment to service, and a sense of their security and satisfaction in their work. The continuation of staff plays an important role in the department's excellent service delivery record."

The award recipients included office support and administration staff, technical staff and health care workers. They have stayed put in their positions, dedicating their best years to the department.

Minister Botha said the department's focus is on service delivery to patients, and that each staff member plays a key role in the patient's experience.

Three staff members were saluted for their utter dedication and commitment during their 40 years of service to patients and the community.

Aletta de Witt, a deputy-director within the Information Management Directorate, started her career as a student nurse at Tygerberg Hospital.

She worked as a registered nurse within various components of the Department and obtained various additional qualifications in midwifery, nursing education and community nursing care, psychiatric nursing and nursing administration.

She was the youngest matron at the age of 27 and received the Chief Matron Award in 1986 for her exceptional work with the student nurses.

Her ability to adapt to new and challenging areas initiated her move into the then unknown field of system maintenance and support from a health perspective where she was appointed as a deputy-director within the Information Management Directorate in 2003.

Gamiet Diedericks retired from the Department at the end of January 2013 as a Deputy-Director: Administration. He started his career in January 1973 as an Administration Clerk and quickly worked his way up to Senior Administration Clerk.

During the rationalisation of public administration in 1995, he was allocated to the Western Cape Education Department.

He continued his service within the Department of Health in 1997 when he was appointed as the Deputy-Director: Administration, the position he held until his retirement.

Sarel Koen, a deputy-director within the office of the Chief Financial Officer, started his career in the public service at Tygerberg Hospital in a financial capacity.

He has been noted for some first accomplishments in the province. One of them occurred during the early 1980’s while he was based at Groote Schuur Hospital; he managed to be the first of the hospitals to manually balance the revenue figures in the then Financial Accounting System with the actual receipts in the billing system. He recently also developed a computerised process that assists all the hospitals to perform this reconciliation electronically.

All the award recipients are excellent examples of how loyally working better together can improve the patient’s experience and ultimately health care for the people of the Western Cape.

Media Enquiries: 

Angelique Jordaan
Communications Officer: Head Office
Western Cape government Health
Tel: 021 483 3563
Cell:  084 293 6277
E-mail: Angelique.Jordaan@westerncape.gov.za