Gauteng Health denies staff departure impact service at Charlotte Maxeke

The Gauteng Department of Health has denied that recent staff departures at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital have had an impact on patient care.

This follows concerns raised by DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, Jack Bloom, who questioned the high staff shortage, particularly in nursing, at the hospital. According to him, the hospital currently had a shortage of 364 nurses and an overall 436 vacancies

“This information was revealed by Gauteng Health MEC, Qedani Mahlangu, in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature and it was also revealed that the hospital currently employed 4 716 people,” he said

“The MEC also revealed that the major shortage was in nursing but other shortages are within the admin, allied, support and medical staff too.” Bloom added that the reason given for the loss of skilled workers was due to staff members leaving for better opportunities in the private sector and those reaching retirement age.

He expressed concern that this shortage, especially of nurses, would affect the quality of patient care at the hospital and called on the hospital to provide more training and recruitment to circumvent these losses.

Hitting back at these allegations was Steve Mabona, spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Health, who assured the public that the hospital remained unaffected by the loss of professional staff. “The hospital continues to thrive and render quality services, despite losing clinical staff pursuing better opportunities in the private sector,” he said.

Mabona also disputed the staff vacancy figures given by Bloom, highlighting that they stood at 403 and not 436. “We can reassure the public that there has been no impact on patient care related to the loss of skilled staff, as vacant posts are filled timeously,” he countered.

“Vacancies are advertised as and when they become available.”