​By Aobakwe Selebogo
 
The newly procured digital X-ray machines at Tshwane District Hospital have led to improved accurate diagnosis and faster turnaround times, ensuring that the facility renders diagnostic imaging to over 1 600 patients a month. 
MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko unveiled the three high-performing digital X-ray machines which include a Digital Ceiling Suspension Radspeed Pro, a Control X Ceiling Suspension System and a Fujifilm Go Plus Mobile Unit on Thursday, 03 April 2024. These state-of-the-art equipment are collectively worth over R7 million. 
The MEC said that the unveiling of this equipment affirms the agenda in the 7th Administration on accelerating infrastructure and health technology improvements for better healthcare delivery.
"These X-ray machines are more than just equipment they represent our commitment to deliver quicker, safer, and more accurate diagnoses. But the real power lies in how we use them, with care, pride, and a smile," said MEC Nkomo-Ralehoko.
Previously the hospital using conventional radiography would see less than 1 000 patients a month, with average waiting times between 24 – 30 minutes. However, since the procurement of these cutting-edge machines, the hospital is seeing an average of 70 patients a day, with waiting times of 10 – 13 minutes. 
According to Gloria Moropotli, the hospital's Head of Radiography, the old conventional radiography machines were slow and had poor imagine quality. "These new machines are digital, ensuring that we receive our images immediately allowing us to provide better patient care to communities. Patients no longer have to endure lengthy queues as our turnaround time significantly improved," she said.
Dr Jo-Marie Siemens, Medical Officer working at the hospital's emergency unit said that they rely heavily on x-ray imaging for clinical diagnosis and clinical practice, especially on patients who present at the facility with trauma, fractures and more. 
"With these new machines and the quality of imaging we are having produced and the speed that we are receiving has made a massive impact on our overall clinical practice. Having access to these high quality images we have been able to see fractures that we were not able to see before," said Dr Siemens. 
In addition, MEC Nkomo-Ralehoko launched and onboarded the hospital on the I Serve with a Smile campaign, a provincial initiative aimed at improving the patient experience through kindness, empathy, and professional service by healthcare workers.
"We are not here just to treat illnesses, we are here to comfort, to support, and to bring holistic healing. Our patients are not just files and folder numbers, they are someone's mother, someone's child, someone's uncle, someone's grandfather, someone's neighbor. They too matter!
"From today, I want all of us to wear our I Serve with a Smile badges with pride. That badge is a symbol of hope," said the MEC.