Owed R6m, agency ends nurse service

A NURSING agency has stopped providing nurses to the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in west Johannesburg because it is owed R6 million by the Gauteng health department.

Jack Bloom, a DA member who shadows the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for health, Gwen Ramokgopa, yesterday said the anomaly was revealed in a written reply to his questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

Ramokgopa said three nursing agencies were being used by the hospital at the beginning of this year, but they stopped services in September because they had not been paid by her department.

Two of the agencies were paid in full on October 31. However, the Nursing Services of SA agency was only paid R4.9m and is still owed R6 173 045.

Bloom said Ramokgopa told the legislature that “amounts are loaded for payment” but due to cash allocation constraints the amounts owing remained unpaid. She said discussions were under way to resolve the matter.

The DA member of the provincial legislature warned that withdrawal of agency nurses led to staff burnout at the hospital. Bloom said two wards were closed and three operating theatres were “cut down to one”.

“This is a sad effect of the department’s ongoing financial crisis which increases the risk of medical negligence for the 14 000 births at this hospital every year,” said Bloom, adding it was essential “extra money was found to pay the department’s debts, otherwise more companies will halt services”. – ANA