MZANSI SALUTES NURSES! 13 May 2021
Comments Nurses from Cape Town celebrating International Nurses Day last year. This year, the healthcare sector had to be on the frontline as the world dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo by Jaco Marais.
ON WEDNESDAY, 12 May, Mzansi saluted its dedicated nurses.
South African nurses celebrated International Nurses Day following a particularly difficult period.
In Tshwane, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) called on government to find clear ways to deal with disruptions to the healthcare system caused by Covid-19.
Its president Simon Hlungwani said a survey by the International Council of Nurses in January found that just under 40% of the 105 countries surveyed had nurses sitting on the highest bodies dealing with the pandemic.
In the week ending 24 April, the Free State had the second-highest incidence risk of South Africa’s nine provinces behind only the Northern Cape, according to the National Institutes for Communicable Disease’s latest Weekly Epidemiological Brief. The incidence risk, a measure of people’s risk of contracting Covid-19, also increased marginally in the province compared with the previous week.
Of the 7,655 new cases of Covid-19 reported in the country in the week ending 24 April, 1,436 (18.8%) were in the Free State. Only Gauteng reported more cases in that week.
It is not only case numbers that provide reason for concern. According to the South African Medical Research Council’s latest Weekly Mortality Report, the number of deaths from natural causes in the Free State and Northern Cape was “concerningly high” in the week from 25 April to 1 May (the most recent week for which they report numbers). They estimate that there have been just less than 8,000 excess natural death
One of Gautengâs academic hospitals canât fill 544 critical posts due to budgets cuts
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Johannesburg - Budget cuts and the shortage of specialist nurses have left some of the countryâs hospitals with hundreds of unfilled critical posts.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has blamed these two factors for the high number of vacant posts at the Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria.
There were 544 vacancies at the George Mukhari Hospital, and 357 of these were for nursing professionals and clinical professionals.
A further 79 posts were for health professionals such as dietitians, medical technologists, radiographers and respiratory therapists.
Saftu unhappy with âheavy-handednessâ of cops during their Cape Town protest
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Johannesburg - The SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) leadership and members took to the streets on Wednesday to voice their socio-economic concerns.
The nationwide strike came before Finance Minister Tito Mboweniâs Budget speech for the year.
However, things turned chaotic in Cape Town, where police had to use stun grenades to disperse protesters.
It was confirmed that two Saftu members were arrested for allegedly trying to make their way into Parliament.
In a statement, the union revealed that its provincial secretary in the Western Cape, Andre Adams, and Nadine Simons, the chairperson of the Democratic Municipal and Allied Workers Union of South Africa in the Western Cape, were being charged at the Cape Town central police station for an alleged breaking of the regulations.