Inadequate training: SA nurses criticise coronavirus ‘suicide mission’

The Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union (YNITU) on Monday 16 March said the country’s front liners, such as nurses and doctors, have not been properly briefed on how to deal with coronavirus patients and therefore — are basically — undertaking a suicide mission. 

“The president did not address the issues being faced by the frontline staff — the nurses and doctors and other healthcare professionals who will be coming in contact with suspected and infected cases,” said the organisation. 

“YNITU strongly feels that our front liners are not adequately trained, they rely on information that is on the internet and social media to learn about the virus itself,” it added. 

YNITU says nurses not adequately trained to deal with coronavirus 

The YNITU explained that there were not enough workshops, in-service training and education about the condition and how best to handle it medically. 

“The health professionals still don’t know the drills they need to follow when a patient is presenting with similar symptoms in their facilities. This should be for everyone in the hospital, from the emergency room, clinic and maternity ward. The government also needs to be honest and admit that we have a severe gross shortage of equipment and protective gear,” said YNITU spokesperson Lerato Gova.

Majority of hospitals lack coronavirus protective gear 

The YNITU has learnt that the majority of clinics and hospitals don’t have the bare minimum of coronavirus protective gear, such as masks, gloves and gowns.  

“They feel like going to work is like a suicide mission. They want to serve their communities, but feel the government is not fully coming to the party. We call on the government to not only show care for patients, but also for the health providers themselves,” said Gova. 

“We are concerned about nurses and doctors who are exposed to the coronavirus at the 10 identified facilities and any other institution, because we should have clear guidelines on what to do with a patient who will test positive. 

“Nurses and doctors can’t be expected to go back home when they get infected. They must also be quarantined to ensure that they don’t further transmit the coronavirus. But also, they need to be protected, as well as their families and loved ones. The frontline staff also matters and so does their health,” she added. 

Protective measures should have been implemented sooner 

Now that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases has jumped to 116, it is of utmost importance to implement serious restrictive measures. The YNITU said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on protective measures should have been implemented on Monday instead of pushing it to Wednesday 18 March.

“The truth is that currently, our public healthcare sector is in a hopeless situation. There’s a gross shortage of human resources while the country has many health care professionals, nurses in particular, who are sitting at home unemployed after they were shown the exit door in different provinces like KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo under the leadership of health MEC Phophi Ramathuba,” she said.   

“We are therefore calling upon our government to immediately solve the issue of shortage of human and material resources which we believe should it be left unattended; has a great potential to send poor South Africans to the graveyard prematurely,” she added.