From: Mpumalanga News, 14 April 2021

The Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union (YNITU) encouraged the parents of the infant whose arm had to be amputated due to alleged negligence to sue the Mpumalanga Department of Health. The union alleged there was only one professional registered nurse and two junior nurses working with a junior doctor at the casualty ward on the day the little boy was admitted at the hospital. The union’s president, Lerato Mthunzi, said, “The staffing situation at the neonatal ward where the baby was transferred to following admission was also bad. The junior staff members supposed to work under supervision are thrown in the deep end, while being forced to work alone in crowded wards. “

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From: The Star, 08 April 2021

SONRI NAIDOO NURSING students in the public sector continue to express their frustration with the Department of Health, claiming the government’s new bursary system is exploitative. They say the system is “motivated by greed”, and described it as a “poor funding model”. The South African nursing education system was restructured in 2010, changing student nurses from supernumerary status to bursary holders. This saw the introduction of a new bursary system that removed certain benefits such as a pension fund, medical aid scheme and performance bonuses. The students also receive a stipend which they claim is not enough for accommodation, food, transport, textbooks and their uniform. 

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From: Independent Online, 06 April 2021

The provincial health department has committed to launching an investigation following the death of a newborn baby amid allegations of negligence by medical staff. This comes after Nerina Swartz, 37, from Elsies River, was allegedly turned away at Elsies River Day Hospital, where she said a midwife obstetric unit (MOU) nurse referred her to Tygerberg Hospital with her premature baby still attached to her umbilical cord. The baby died after she arrived at Tygerberg Hospital. Provincial health spokesperson Mark van der Heever said they would also be cooperating with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which has been alerted to the matter.

 

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From: Independent Online, 28 March 2021

Sister Rowena Jacobs, a nurse at Groote Schuur Hospital who has been in the medical industry for nearly 40 years, is also one of the hospital’s vaccinators.  Jacobs, who recently received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, contracted the virus during the first wave and has first-hand experience of working during

the pandemic. “I had the vaccination three weeks ago. All staff were given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. I had no side-effects, although some might experience a fever or swelling,” she said.

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