Call to address nurses’ issues
THE Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) has called on the health department (DoH) and private health institutions to address the poor working conditions and remuneration shortfalls of nurses.
Hospersa had highlighted many concerns affecting nurses in South Africa, the union said in a statement marking International Nurses’ Day yesterday.
“On May 12, Hospersa joins the international community in celebrating International Nurses Day. This annual celebration looks to highlight the important role nurses play in society and marks the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth,” it said.
The International Council of Nurses led the celebrations and this year’s theme was “Nursing: the balance of mind, body, and spirit”.
“Hospersa embraces this theme and commends nurses for being the life blood of the health-care system,” Hospersa spokesperson Kevin Halama said.
“Nurses’ role in our clinics and hospitals ensures that primary health care reaches the most vulnerable South Africans who depend on it the most. However, poor working conditions, especially in public health facilities, continues being a thorn in the delivery of quality health care to many of the country’s communities,” he said.
“There is also a high prevalence of workplace infections of tuberculosis (TB), which is robbing the health sector of a skilled workforce that consists predominantly of nurses. According to the World Health Organisation, South Africa has the second-highest TB incidence among health-care workers in the world.”
“Furthermore, the staff morale of nurses is very low due to meagre salaries, poor implementation of the nurses’ uniform allowance, and non-translation of nurses, who qualified to progress into higher positions. In the private sector, employers continue implementing less than favourable salary increases in an economic environment characterised by a weaker rand and rising costs,” he said.
Hospersa has taken the lead in addressing issues affecting nurses in the workplace. To address Occupational Health Services concerns, Hospersa has partnered with the National Institute for Occupational Health in efforts to tackle problems experienced by health workers.