Short-staffed Red Hill Clinic tests patients patience
A lack of skilled nurses has left three positions open at the Red Hill clinic for several years.
THE Red Hill Clinic has been short-staffed for over three years, causing major inconvenience for the sick and elderly who turn to the facility for assistance.
According to Bobby Maharajh, the chairman of the Red Hill/Avoca Civic Organisation and the DA candidate councillor for Ward 34, three nursing positions have remained open for a number of years, placing strain on the other staff members. On average, patients who visit the clinic are forced to wait four to seven hours for assistance. What’s more, he said the clinic has also relied heavily on two volunteers for the last three years.
“One of the volunteers plays an integral role within the clinic’s system, and there seems to have been no effort to offer her a permanent position. What would happen if she were to leave tomorrow? The whole clinic would be brought to a standstill,” he said.
Sybil De Quinteo, the DA candidate PR councillor for Ward 34, said additional strain has been placed on the staff as people from other communities, such as Ntuzuma, Newlands and KwaMashu, also frequent the facility.
“I have been told the clinic offers services that others don’t, such as male circumcision and prenatal examinations, and they don’t like to turn people away. If this is the case, it begs the question, why does it seem like little effort has been put into replacing staff?” she said.
An anonymous source within the clinic said that the facility has been struggling to fill the positions as there is not only a shortage of skilled nurses, but many are snapped up by the private sector.
“The government sector just can’t compete with the difference in salaries,” she said.
In terms of the volunteers, she said it was near impossible to hire them, as they ‘belong to the provincial department’.
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