DEAR Editor,-
I respond to the article in the South Coast Herald entitled ‘Hospitals workplace wellness criticised’. Department of Health spokesperson Ncumisa Mafunda explained that the wellness programme was a government initiative to keep officials healthy. The intentions may be good, but implementation is unfair in that only a select few benefit:-
At the Port Shepstone Regional Hospital: 1 Office-based workers can shut off computers early to exercise; 2 Hospital-based clinics like occupational therapy clinics can shut off computers and leave early to pursue the wellness programme and, 3 Ward-based nurses, will find it a problem to leave patients and go out to exercise because this would compromise patients, since wards are generally understaffed.
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At mobile clinics: 1 Office-based staff can leave the offices early, but, 2 Those who go out to do fieldwork may not benefit if they don’t return early. And, at clinics: 1 Most facilities are under-staffed and experience long patient queues daily; 2 Can they close clinics to go out on the wellness programme? Or could half of the staff go out and let those left behind deal with the queue of patients.
Ncumisa Mafunda stated that this process is managed by supervisors and does not compromise patient care. I don’t believe that workers will leave during the middle of the day, go out and exercise and come back all sweaty and tired and continue to work. What I believe is that they will leave their workstations early to exercise and then go home to shower and change – which makes sense.
The general public use their own time to keep fit and not taxpayers’ money and time. Why can’t this programme be implemented after hours or over weekends, which will benefit all and not a select few?
FAIR PLAY
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