Charlotte Maxeke Hospital faces critical staff shortages

Charlotte Maxeke Hospital may as well be a ghost town by the time it opens.

There have been 220 staff resignations since the fire last year and there are currently 677 vacant posts.

According to Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi, there are 355 vacant nursing posts and more than 300 vacant healthcare-related posts.

Before the fire, the total staff complement was 4982, but this has dropped now to 4812, partly due to the resignations of 91 nurses and 68 doctors. 

According to Mokgethi, “The reduction of staff is due to resignation, retirement, death and contracts expired and staff resignations were related to better remuneration, promotions and travelling costs between home and work.”

Mokgethi said that there is a shortage of professional nurses, critical care and psychiatrically trained nurse specialists.

Departments that are closed at the hospital include medical emergency casualties, infectious wards and mental health.

“A total of 312 Charlotte Maxeke staff have been deployed to other hospitals to assist with the hospital’s patients, but this is inadequate and treatment backlogs are growing alarmingly,” said DA shadow MEC for Health Jack Bloom.

“I am not surprised by the resignations as staff morale is low as they are frustrated by the slow pace of fixing the hospital and the parking crisis that hits them every day,” Bloom adds.

Meanwhile, patients are suffering the most with waiting lists for treatment growing longer and longer.

“My DA colleagues in Parliament will be pressing the National Health Department to involve the best skills in the private sector to get this hospital fully functional as soon as possible,” vowed Bloom.

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