Health worker shortage hampers service delivery

Eastern Cape nursing college not recognised by the South African Nursing Council

The Gauteng Health Department says a desperate shortage of skills is seriously hampering the operations of health facilities in the province. It has acknowledged that the country is not producing enough students with science subjects, maths and biology.

Gauteng Health MEC Brian Hlongwa says various factors have led to the shortage of health personnel. He says part of the problem is working conditions and remuneration.

The South African Nursing Council says they have more than 35 000 registered nurses in South Africa. However, many of them are working in non nursing professions. Remuneration has been highlighted as the biggest challenge facing the health sector.

"We need to do more to promote this profession to young people," says Hlongwa. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there should be 200 doctors per 100 000 people however in Gauteng there are only 29 doctors per 100 000 people.

The Health Department is convening a three-day summit of stakeholders in Johannesburg starting tomorrow. The summit is aimed at developing a human resources planning framework.

Mpumalanga doctor resigns
Meanwhile, the controversial head of Mpumalanga's Health Department, Dr Confidence Moloko, has resigned. Moloko was appointed in April 2006 and during his time, scores of health care workers, including doctors, resigned accusing him of bad management.

Moloko was accused of failing to fill vacancies in hospitals, failing to consult others before taking decisions on behalf of hospitals and clinics and failing to pay staff for overtime.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) has long been calling for the dismissal of Moloko. The union has blamed the doctor for the shortage of doctors in the province.