KZN health system ‘collapse’

KZN doctors are battling to work under a healthcare system that was “collapsing”, and will soon take to the streets to vent their frustrations.

The South African Medical Association’s KZN Coastal branch will embark on a march on May 5, when about 1000 state doctors will protest against the “poor state of public healthcare in the province” in which they are expected to work long hours, with poor support and facilities in a state of disrepair.

The march comes after KZN Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo revealed in his budget presentation that the department was expected to pay about R241 million for legal claims, while reportedly also defending claims of R10 billion. A special medical litigation unit had been created to sift through the claims.

“Just take, for example, the medical litigation unit. This, in itself, is a waste of money by the department. All the unit is is a plaster on the problem; the department is not even going to the root cause of the issue and that is the shortage of doctors and nurses in the province. We need to have more medical officers working on the ground,” said Sama KZN chairperson Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa.

He said doctors were not able to perform their duties because they did not have the facilities and equipment they needed.

“Oncologists are not able to perform their work because there is broken machinery, and it’s never been replaced. As doctors we can’t just stand there and fold our arms and expect the work to be done,” he said.

One of the biggest problems was unfilled vacancies.

The KZN Health department had not commented by late last night.