Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Eastern Cape health department says it needs R1 billion to absorb striking community service nurses.
The community service nurses, whose contracts expire at the end of March, have been protesting. They are demanding to be given permanent posts.
The nurses first protested on 9 March.
On Tuesday, they again gathered in Bhisho.
The provincial health department said that, because of financial constraints, they would not be able to hire nurses who just completed their community service, or to renew the contracts of people employed on temporary Covid-19 positions.
There are about 630 nursing students whose contracts will not be renewed at the end of the month.
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The students, like Alizwa Jubase, had their studies paid for by the department.
According to their contracts, Jubase and other students have to work for the department for four years after completing their studies.
Jubase said they would not stop protesting until they received permanent contracts.
“We are not going to stop. I am very hopeful that things will go our way.
Jubase said:
Other than staff shortages, the department was bound by their contracts to hire them, Jubase said.
“There’s a binding document that is the contract we all signed that they have to see through.”
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The Eastern Cape health department’s spokesperson, Yonela Dekeda, however, said it would be difficult to employ them because of financial constraints.
In addition to the 630 nurses, the department was also not renewing the 7 349 contracts of people hired to assist the province in the fight against Covid-19.
Dekeda said 5 400 of the contracts were for healthcare workers and 1 949 for other categories.
Dekeda said the protesting group had requested to meet with the department’s head of department, Rolene Wagner.
“They will be advised on the date when the HOD will be available.”
She said it was unfortunate that the department had not been able to place the post community service nurses.
“The department needs at least R1 billion to be able to place these post comm serves as well as to extend the contracts of the Covid-19 workers.”
The department’s inability to employ the post community service nurses will likely increase the dire shortage of staff in the Eastern Cape’s health system.
In answering parliamentary questions last week, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said there were 10 831 vacant nursing posts in state hospitals.
Phaahla said KwaZulu-Natal had the highest number of nursing vacancies at 3 603, followed by the Eastern Cape with 2 183 vacancies and Gauteng with 1 497.
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