After a week of a stalemate, the MEC for Health, Fufe Makatong, had to come down to Kuruman to pursued medical staff to return to the clinics and hospitals while their grievances were being attended to expeditiously.

The medical staff from the Department of Health in the John Taolo Gaetsewe district, which consist of 43 clinics and two hospitals, ie the Kuruman and the Tshwaragano hospitals, had engaged in a solidarity stoppage as a means of expressing their displeasure about the critical shortage of personnel, particularly nurses and doctors.

On August 08, 2018 medical staff did not man clinics and there was sluggish attendance of staff at the two hospitals. Nurses and the rest of the staff instead went to the regional office of the Department of Health to express their unhappiness caused by the excessive pressure exerted on them due to lack of adequate nursing staff, doctors and other resources.

Using their unions DENOSA, NEHAWU and HOSPERSA, the health personnel resolutely deserted the clinics, claiming that they could not cope with the mounting pressure of attending to disproportionate numbers of patients.

On Tuesday August 14, 2018 the MEC graciously humbled herself, met the disgruntled staff and unions’ representatives where she spelt out the roadmap in resolving the stalemate.

Ms Makatong said that the staff had raised a miscellany of issues, but most of all it was the staff shortage that had created more anxiety and misery.

She said that interviews for different clinical posts had already been conducted as early as 2017 to fill the many posts available in a bid to ease pressure, however a directive from the department during the process was issued advising to suspend the process. The delay in filling vacant posts has fuelled the nursing staff to take a more rigorous action to convey their outrage.

The MEC also touched on a very counteractive problem cutting across all government departments as a kybosh in the ensuing challenge. There are too many incapacitated staff members within the department who continue renewing their sick leaves and this has become another disease that scuttles service delivery directly in the system.

NEHAWO and DENOSA representatives, Maxwell Mothibi and Dikeledi Senatle, respectively said that safe staffing standards and quality patient care are at its lowest ebb as a result of critical staff shortages throughout clinics and hospitals. They said that due to an increased workload, patients are being swiped like bank cards meaning they are given little of attention. They said that they appreciated the visit by the MEC who addressed the staff of the region and assured them that they will convince their respective members to normalise the situation.