Impasse continues for nurses’ protest

ONE of more than 150 unemployed nurses who have been sleeping outside the Eastern Cape health department offices since Monday fainted and was taken to Bhisho Hospital yesterday.

Nwabisa Songololo, 30, of Peddie, complained of a sharp pain in her back before she lost consciousness.

An ambulance was called just after 9.30am but did not arrive until just before 11am. It was not clear what had caused the experience for Songololo.

The unemployed nurses’ provincial chairman, Thembinkosi Qwakanisa, said Songololo had succumbed to the cold that they were enduring as they waited for health MEC Phumza Dyantyi to address them.

Despite the scare, Songololo’s peers have vowed to continue sleeping outside the building until they are given appointment letters. Today is day five of the protest as the group started sleeping there on Monday.

Qwakanisa said the department was well aware of their plight and had no intention of assisting them.

“In the province there are over 500 unemployed certified nurses from both private colleges and the department.

“Yet we still hear the department complaining of shortages,” he said.

The Eastern Cape government produces around 1 100 nurses from its colleges per year.

It pays them a monthly R2 500 stipend each for the duration of the training.

Provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo reiterated the department’s position that the nurses need to follow human resources processes.

The only way the protesting nurses could be employed was if they applied for advertised vacant positions.

“There are no plans to absorb nurses. However, a recruitment process to employ qualifying nurses is currently under way. The first advert was published in May,” he said.

Kupelo admitted that the department had staff shortages in its health facilities but said addressing such shortages depended on the availability of funds. —