More than 36 000 patients are waiting for surgeries in Gauteng public hospitals. Photo: Adobe Stock
Denosa: Unions in dark about KZN health department decisions
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) has raised its concerns about the safety of healthcare workers in hospitals after the closure of the first state hospital in the province.
More than 36 000 patients are waiting for surgeries in Gauteng public hospitals. Photo: Adobe Stock
The General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Memorial Hospital, in KwaDukuza, was forced to close its doors on Monday after 19 people tested positive for COVID-19 at the state medical facility.
Written warnings to staff about PPE
Following on this, KwaZulu-Natal Denosa provincial secretary Mandla Shabangu has revealed that five of their members at the hospital were given final written warnings for refusing to work without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
“Look at what has happened there. How is it possible that so many people have been infected with the coronavirus in such a short space of time? Were there any measures put in place to prevent the spread of the virus?” he asked.
The first known case at the state hospital involves a medical consultant from the hospital’s paediatric department, who fell ill on 26 April, and received her positive test results on 29 April.
Frontline workers at risk
“Frontline workers are putting their lives at risk when they’re expected to work with no proper PPE and face masks. What also saddens us the most is that since the lockdown was announced, no new nurses have been hired, which puts a strain on the current healthcare workers who are already working hard.
“I am disappointed that the department does not include us as unions in the decision-making process. We only find out via social media,” he added
Health department: ‘We will meet with unions’
KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature member and chairperson of the health portfolio committee Nomakiki Roseline Majola said:
“Because of social distancing and some regulations, we have not been able to hold physical meetings with all the stakeholders. However, on Thursday afternoon, we will meet with the unions as the committee and the department.”
“If we don’t resolve all these issues, we are putting the lives of our healthcare workers at risk. We will also discuss the findings from the investigations into other KwaZulu-Natal hospitals that have been temporarily closed because of the coronavirus outbreak,” she added.
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