Doomed hospital staff turn to prayer
As staff protest the closure of McCord Hospital, they appeal to the public and stakeholders to attend a general meeting tomorrow at 9am outside the hospital where a petition for a vote of no confidence against the board would be circulated.
DISTRESSED staff at McCord Hospital took to prayer this morning in the hopes of an amicable end to their pending unemployment a day before the hospital is due to shut down permanently. Stakeholders and staff including concerned members of the public started the day with a prayer meeting.
Work at the hospital continued after the prayer meeting, despite the looming closure.
Beracaah Jaka, one of the last patients to be treated at McCord said it was sad to see the hospital close as she had received good treatment. The 22-year-old who was experiencing chest and stomach aches arrived at the hospital for the first time on Thursday morning. “I heard that it was closing on the news so phoned to check if I would be treated. They said I could come through today for treatment but that it would close tomorrow.” Jaka said she had been treated, had an ECG and X-ray. They were not able to book her in for an endoscopy as they were not sure what would happen tomorrow. I was happy, the staff were very nice,” she added.
Meanwhile at tea breaks and during their lunch hour, staff have embarked on peaceful protests against the hospital board’s decision to terminate negotiations to sell the hospital to the KZN Department of Health.
Medical Manager, Dr Jay Mannie spoke to Berea Mail during the protest. “We are here to peacefully protest the closing tomorrow. We are opposing the decision by the board to end negotiations and want to support the Department of Health in their efforts to rescue us.”
Mannie said the DoH’s terms were not unrealistic. “It was a unilateral decision by the board. Staff and stakeholders were not consulted. Staff are opposed to the closure and are taking the legal route because the board is refusing to engage with them. They are only engaging with lawyers. It is sad and very disappointing,” the doctor who has worked at the hospital for 27 years said.
He said the hospital staff had embraced prayer which was in line with the missionary principals the hospital was founded on. “Prayer is an important weapon and we know we will see an amicable resolution. God will see us through this.”
Mannie called on stakeholders and concerned community members to attend a general meeting tomorrow at 9am outside the hospital where a petition for a vote of no confidence against the board would be circulated.
National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU), secretary Zola Saphetha felt the closure didn’t auger well on two levels. Speaking at the protest he said,”The community is losing a much needed healthcare facility and our workers will lose their jobs. As a union we have issued a letter of demand to the Board and its lawyers with the intention of filing papers in the Labour Court as we feel this closure is unlawful.”
Saphetha believed the closure wasn’t lawful because the Board had not complied with Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act where they were supposed to act transparently on financial challenges necessary for retrenchment.
