Numerous nurses in the Western Cape are being forced to leave their jobs in search of better pay and working conditions abroad, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo said to the province legislature on Thursday.
Ferlon Christians of the African Christian Democratic Party questioned her about whether the department had taken any steps to lessen the effects of the widespread departure of nursing professionals from the province.
Mbombo acknowledged that nurses were underpaid while others were unable to find employment and were compelled to hunt for employment abroad.
“Nurses are exhausted, but the issue is there is no money to pay them,” she said.
“South Africa has and always will be attracting recruiters from all over the world. Most are in the UK and the Middle East because we train the best. We have never compromised on the skills of our healthcare workers,” Mbombo said.
“Many nurses also leave because there are no jobs for them.”
The Democratic Nursing Organization of South Africa (Denosa) expressed alarm on the lack of nurses in public health facilities last month.
According to spokeswoman Denosa Sibongiseni Delihlazo, “Public healthcare facilities are faced with overcrowding, a severe lack of staff, low pay, and constant reduction in health budgets, leading to the procurement of fewer medical resources and equipment.”
According to research done by the organisation, there were about 10,000 unemployed nurses in Gauteng, followed by 5,000 in the Free State, 3,000 in Limpopo, 2000 in Mpumalanga, 1000 in the Western Cape, 500 in the North West, 350 in the Eastern Cape, and 200 in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to a recent paper titled “The Nursing Community Service Programme: The answer to rural health system challenges,” there are currently between 26 000 and 62 000 professional nurses working in South Africa.
The report also predicts that between 305 000 and 340 000 nurses will be needed in South Africa by 2030.
Life Healthcare issued a warning last month that if South Africa did not increase nursing education, a catastrophe would soon arise.
Peter Wharton-Hood, the chief executive of the hospital group, said:
The issue will worsen if no fast action is taken and we are unable to build a sustainable pipeline of nursing talent. He claimed that while Life Healthcare was now only accredited to teach 800 nurses, it was capable of training up to 3000 nurses annually.
“Nurses are the backbone of any healthcare system, and we are being denied the opportunity to invest in the next generation of nurses,” the speaker claimed.
