Out of retirement to join the battle
● After working as a nurse for more than 30 years — the last 14 at a hospital in Saudi Arabia — Baronice Andrews decided to retire in her native Cape Town.
But just as the mother of two arrived home in Kuils River last month, the Covid-19 lockdown was announced.
Now she is preparing to rejoin the health service following a plea to retired medical professionals from health minister Zweli Mkhize.
In new regulations gazetted last week, Mkhize said additional health staff, including those with special skills, community service workers and expanded public works programme personnel, should be recruited in strategic areas.
The regulations say the recruitment process must be shortened to a week, with the condition that an appointment may be set aside depending on suitability checks.
Mkhize said health authorities must identify their needs and medical professionals must be available for deployment where they are needed.
Andrews, a midwife who previously worked at maternity and obstetrics units in Cape Town and nursed patients infected by Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh National Hospital, said the outbreak of Covid-19 would “give me another opportunity to serve my country”.
“I don’t take this virus outbreak lightly because I’ve dealt with a similar situation during the Mers outbreak five years ago.
“It’s a tough call for me as I planned to spend all my time with my family, but there are sacrifices to be made and for me there is no better time to make such sacrifices than now.”
Health department spokesperson Popo Maja said the response to Mkhize’s plea to retired health workers had been impressive.
Maja said the volunteer medics were likely to start work “when the situation becomes dire”.