South Africa : Retired nurses in Eastern Cape to ease staff shortages

By Gabi Khumalo

Bhisho - In an effort to address staff shortages, the Eastern Cape Health Department has approached retired nurses to assist in community healthcare institutions.

Health MEC Pemmy Majodina said the department has discussed the challenge with provincial nurses and doctors and they have decided to use retired nurses to improve the situation.

"We held meetings with retired nurses willing to assist in community healthcare facilities and also looked at introducing bridging courses for nurses instead of letting them do a four-year course to speed up work," Ms Majodina said.

Ms Majodina said while she acknowledged challenges facing the department, including staff shortages and non-availability of medicines, she was satisfied with the department's progress, which is slowly yielding results.

Among the interventions by the department to address its challenges include the launch of Operation Sheshisa in April with the introduction of air ambulances to improve response time and transport patients to the best facility for their particular situation.

The department also boasts fully stocked medicine depots in the province and plans to integrate provincial-aided hospitals and municipal clinics to create one public health system as required by the national government.

Ms Majodina said the department had also been plagued by cases of Extreme Drug Resistant TB patients escaping from the Jose Pearson Hospital in Port Elizabeth. They staged protests alleging they were being ill-treated by being refused permission to go home.

"This had led to the accreditation of XDR, HIV and AIDS sites in eight [other] hospitals in the province.

"TB programmes had also been linked to facilitate dual therapy where antiretrovirals and Nevirapine were combined to prevent mother-to-child transmission," she said.

In improving security at Livingstone Hospital following attacks on staff and patients in hospital premises, closed-circuit television cameras were being installed at depots.

The target is to ultimately secure all hospitals in the province, Ms Majodina said.

With the circumcision season already underway, the department has fast-tracked discreet treatment facilities for initiates.

The first two deaths in the Eastern Cape's summer circumcision season were reported last Thursday when an 18-year-old died at an initiation school at Mdantsane and another died at Buntingville in Transkei.

The first youth was diabetic, but his parents allegedly failed to disclose his condition to department officials or take his medication to the school. The second youth died of septic wounds, which needed medical attention but his father allegedly refused to take him to hospital.

Ms Majodina said separate wards would be created specifically for initiates to save them from the embarrassment of completing their treatment in hospital.

"We are preventing a situation where they are seen and decide to commit suicide, they will be treated by doctors who are in a position to understand their needs and emotions," she said. - BuaNews