The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) has high hopes for the health sector ahead of Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget Speech. Picture: David Ritchie
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) has high hopes for the health sector ahead of Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget Speech this afternoon.
Two weeks ago, ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, Denosa indicated that it wanted the president to make comprehensive pronouncements on the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) plan.
Once again, the union, through its spokesperson, Sibongiseni Delihlazo, has revealed that it wants the finance minister to outline NHI’s implementation process and increase funding for nursing colleges amid reports of the shortage of nurses, doctors and other health staff in the country.
“We want the minister to outline the NHI implementation and processes (because the NHI implementation is just two years from now). Increasing funding for the production of nurses in colleges and universities will address a future crisis of staff shortages, which is getting worse in mid- to low-income countries,” Delihlazo told The Star.
As Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepares to table the 2024/25 Budget, South Africans across various sectors of the economy have called on him to reverse austerity measures and budget cuts, which are having a negative impact on the country’s elusive economic growth.
Denosa said it also wants Godongwana to speak on the issue of load shedding, which needs urgent attention as the health sector’s services suffer due to power disruptions, which has reached unprecedented levels in the past three years.
“We want him to address the issue of health-care staffing, which in turn often leads to the country’s improved health outcomes and overall life expectancy.
“We also expect him to commit to government’s intention to remove hospitals and clinics from load shedding because critical health-care services get interrupted, and millions of operations funds get diverted to buying diesel endlessly.
“Water cuts in hospitals and clinics have become a daily occurrence in many municipalities. Means to safeguard essential service areas like health from water cuts will prolong life for patients and communities and improve life expectancy for the country,” said Delihlazo.
Delihlazo revealed that load shedding also has a negative effect on crime and the welfare of staff as well as patients who become soft targets for criminals in the darkness.
“Staff and patients in clinics and hospitals are becoming vulnerable and soft targets to attacks and robberies as safety standards have dropped drastically. Beefing up of security has always been identified as the most urgent need in every incident in facilities, yet nothing much gets done to improve it.
“Putting funding aside for the employment of the unabsorbed doctors and nurses and filling vacant positions are two different things that both need to be fulfilled by the government. Therefore, addressing the former with the funds of the latter is not addressing the issue of staff shortage in the country’s health-care system. Health-care professionals leave the public service, and they need to be replaced; and increasing populations and the burden of diseases in our settings need the addition of staff in facilities,“ Delihlazo said.
According to Denosa, NHI remains the only sustainable route towards achieving equal access to quality health-care services for all South Africans, regardless of their socio-economic standing. This is because medical aid membership has become unaffordable for most South Africans.
“This is why Denosa remains in full support of the NHI and believes the president must sign it into law as a matter of urgency,” added Delihlazo.
The Star
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