21 EMS officials fired by Limpopo health department
A further 46 officers have been requested to provide proof of their membership with Health Professional Council of South Africa.
The Limpopo DA has written to the Limpopo health MEC, Phophi Ramathuba, to address its concerns over the dismissal of several emergency care officers.
The department dismissed 21 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) officers for failing to meet required standards to remain active members of the Health Professional Council of South Africa.
A further 46 officers have been requested to provide proof of their membership.
“It is not clear how the department was unaware of the unsuitable status with the regulatory body. Such a large oversight by the department with regards to the registration of EMS personnel is unacceptable. It further raises questions about the registration status of other health professionals and personnel,” said the DA’s Risham Maharaj.
“The department already has R15b in contingent liability due to litigation and can’t afford to continue poorly managing its personnel and provide healthcare with healthcare professionals who are not in compliance with the appropriate regulatory bodies.”
He said the dismissal of these employees would further worsen the understaffing in the department and affect the quality of healthcare the people in Limpopo receive.
A departmental spokesperson, Derick Kganyago, said after the dismissal of the 21 employees, the department would be left with 1 494 emergency care officers at basic life and intermediate life support levels, which will result in an impact of only 1.4%.
“As the festive season is fast approaching, the department would have loved to have all hands on deck in order to deal with any emergency cases that will require any level of EMS response.
“Unfortunately, that could not be, because as part of their employment contracts, healthcare professionals are required to keep active registration statuses with their various regulatory bodies in order to legitimise their permission to work with patients.”
Kganyango said the department would continue to audit the registration status of various health professionals and any others who require registration with the applicable regulatory bodies.
