Concern over nurse shortage

CONCERN has been expressed regarding the severe shortage of nurses in the Northern Cape, with allegations that local residents are being denied basic health care due to a dire lack of capacity at hospitals and clinics across the Province.

The Democratic Alliance’s spokesperson for health, Dr Isak Fritz, said that the community of Richmond had raised their concerns about the town’s overworked nursing sister, who single-handedly ran the local clinic.

“Between 100 and 150 patients visit the clinic every day, from Monday to Friday. While the sister tries her best, this is a massive workload for one person and it is impossible for her to see everyone and give all the patients the level of care they deserve.

“She often also has to deal with medical emergencies on her own, such as women going into labour,” Fritz said.

He added that those who she couldn’t assist then had to go to the local hospital.

“This means they have to pay the transport fees, as well as a R50 consultation fee, which ultimately results in sick people returning home without having received any medical attention whatsoever.”

Fritz described this as a “travesty”, adding that the situation was of Health, said in response that the “Democratic Alliance must not use the nursing programme as their base to campaign and further mislead the public, but instead they must afford the MEC of Health an opportunity to share the nursing turnaround strategic plan with stakeholders and the public during the departmental budget speech”.