Theatre nurse shortage threatens health care
A shortage of theatre nurses is one many health professionals in the city are quietly concerned about.
POLOKWANE – A shortage of theatre nurses is one many health professionals in the city are quietly concerned about.
Most professionals spoken to did so on condition of anonymity.
Off the record, many told of operations being cancelled or postponed due to a lack of theatre nurses and a myriad other challenges experienced at both provincial and private hospitals.
The shortage obviously puts additional strain on the existing staff complement.
One theatre nurse confirmed this.
“We are no longer dedicated to our patients and in our line of work this could mean the difference between life of death.”
According to health spokesperson Adelé van der Linde, the province is losing this skill “through migration to the private sector or other countries”.
She said the problem is not as severe in Polokwane as in the rest of the province. Van der Linde said the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital has 35 approved posts for general theatre nurses of which 31 are filled.
Of these nurses, 19 are trained and the rest are professional nurses who assist in theatre to a certain extent, as it is not their area of speciality.
“There are 15 specialist theatre nurses approved posts of which nine are filled and three reserved,” she said.
Van der Linde added that the department trained three nurses at the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital and four at Mankweng Hospital last year. She says a total of 17 nurses were trained in Limpopo. The department trains theatre nurses on a continuous basis as per the needs identified by hospitals. She says these nurses enter into contracts with the department to ensure their skills are retained.
The difference between theatre nurses and other nurses lies in the training they undergo, making the theatre nurses difficult to replace.
According to a survey by the South African Institute for Race Relations 46% of nursing posts in the country are vacant. The survey showed that Limpopo had the highest rate of vacant nursing positions at 68%. This figure however, includes general nursing positions and not theatre nurses in particular.
