Concerns around SA nursing council
“People have to travel from various provinces to get to Pretoria to get epaulettes, update their qualification and pay their registration.”
Long queues at the SA nursing council (SANC) have become an unbearable reality for nurses from all over the country.
One nurse took to Twitter to air her frustration.
https://twitter.com/PegediS/status/808931309557055488
Members of the Young Nurses Indaba (YNI), an apolitical nursing organisation, also raised their concerns about the council.
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YNI spokesperson Lerato Madumo Gova said the SANC did not have a proper system in place.
“People have to travel from various provinces to get to Pretoria to get epaulettes, update their qualification and pay their registration.”
“This means that they have to pay for transport, food and accommodation just to get assistance.”
Madumo Gova said nurses were often turned away and asked to return the next day as there was a shortage of staff at the nursing council.
She said in 2015 the annual fees payment deadline was extended to March 2016, but the deadline for this year was 31 December.
“If you don’t pay the annual fees you get fined or struck off the roll,” said Madumo Gova.
“In some hospitals, nurses were threatened they would be struck off the roll by November if they did not pay their annual fees,” she said.
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Madumo Gova said she was concerned about what the nursing council was doing with the annual fees it was collecting.
“They just collect money from us and don’t tell us what it is for.”
“The level of corruption from the SANC is appalling.”
Madumo Gova said the nursing council should be checking up on hospitals and clinics to see if the machinery is functioning properly and improving the standard of nursing education to ensure patients were receiving the best nursing care.
She said she was concerned about the number of staff available to assist patients at public hospitals during the festive season.
Health department spokesperson Steve Mabona dismissed the YNI’s issue with nursing shortage at public hospitals and clinics over the festive season.
“The department is confident the measures put in place will assist us to deal with any incidents that may occur. Emergency personnel, vehicles and equipment will be available for the duration of the festive season to ensure citizens receive quality healthcare,” said Mabona.
“The department has recently purchased additional ambulances in the current financial to improve response times.”
The SANC could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print.
A message on the SANC website however, reads: “The South African Nursing Council offices will be closed for the year-end from Thursday, 22 December 2016 at 12:00 midday (for operational reasons, the gates will be closed at 11:00). Offices will re-open on Tuesday, 3 January 2017 at 08:00. Payments for Annual Fees can be made into the Council’s bank account.”
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