The City of Ekurhuleni is aware of the shortage of nurses at Vosloorus Extension Nine Clinic and is in the process of resolving the matter.
This comes after patients voiced their frustrations to the Boksburg Advertiser about the long queues causing delays in being assisted.
Metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the shortage of staff at the clinic resulted from the retirement and resignation of two professional nurses.
“Six vacancies for professional nurses have been advertised for the sub-district health facilities. In employment processes, the Vosloorus Ext 9 clinic will be prioritised and some of the nurses employed will be posted to the clinic. The application date for vacancies closed on September 21 and interviews will be conducted within three weeks of the shortlisting process being finalised,” he said.
“The complaints have been lodged and it is registered with the district’s quality assurance office, as is the norm. From this office, the complaints will be directed to the South sub-district and then to the affected health facility. Procedurally, the manager of the Vosloorus nursing services cluster will attend to the matter,” said Dlamini.
The Advertiser visited the clinic recently. Here, a resident of Somalia Park, Andries Mokoena, said he was chased out of the clinic on September 19 after he lost patience and vented his frustration at one of the nurses. Mokoena said the clinic doesn’t serve its purpose.
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“I arrived at the clinic at 07:30 because I was sick, and because of the facility’s poor service I left at 14:30. I was not helped at the clinic. When I arrived the receptionist said she couldn’t find my file, but I found that surprising as I come to the clinic often. This showed me the incompetency of the staff. Their filing system is not orderly at all.”
Mokoena added that he lost a day of work for nothing as he was chased out and did not get the help he needed.
“The clinic’s service is beyond bad. Even the nurses don’t care about the patients. The metro must do something to change this.”
Another patient, who asked to remain anonymous, said one of the nurses who evaluated patients resigned in December and has not been replaced.
“There’s a shortage of nurses and that’s why it takes so long to be assisted. I believe the problem started after the nurse resigned. Why haven’t they appointed anyone in her place? It is my understanding that the metro has a big responsibility to ensure its residents get healthcare services and that every public facility runs efficiently,” the resident said.
He added that the community and the employees are the ones who should be reporting things that are not going well at any clinic.
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