Mseleni Hospital nurses threaten to go on strike

NURSING staff at Mseleni Hospital have threatened strike action if the hospital management refuses to meet with union representatives.

Nurses formed a picket line on Thursday demanding, among others, free Covid-19 testing.

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This after five nurses recently tested positive.

One of the nurses said being a front line health worker leaves them vulnerable to infections.

‘There are a lot of irregularities at this institution because of poor management.

‘After a patient died from Covid-19 complications, only a few nurses were tested and the rest were forced to use their own medical aid to have testing done.

‘There was also no disinfecting of wards after five nurses tested positive – it was work as usual,’ the nurse said.

Union representatives were approached to step in, but management refused to meet with them, leading to the picket action to highlight the frustrations.

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) regional secretary, Thulani Mthembu, said they were aware of the hospital management’s resistance to meeting with union representatives.

‘As a regional structure, we have written a letter requesting an urgent meeting with the hospital management before the end of the week,’ he said.

‘There are cases of our members being infected, but management is reluctant to apply consistent guidelines.

KZN Department of Health spokesperson, Ntokozo Maphisa, could neither confirm nor deny the allegations.

He said the law prohibits his department from confirming Covid-19 cases, as this role is reserved for the minister of health.

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