Johannesburg – Health Minister Joe Phaahla says it will need at least R1 billion to reverse the nurse shortages in the country.
Recently, Netcare and Life Healthcare warned the country that there was a shortage of nurses, which threatened healthcare provision in both the public and private sectors.
Netcare said it was hamstrung by the government’s policies, which prevented it from training more nurses.
In an interview with “eNCA“, Phaahla said he was aware of staffing issues, adding that he has approached Treasury for funding assistance.
"We have, on a number of occasions, raised the issue with the Treasury and other colleagues in the provinces ... Just in terms of the immediate basic needs, we did indicate that across the board, we need an amount of just under a R1bn, about R950 million, which is required just to be able to make sure that we can meet the basic needs," Phaahla said.
The minister said they are not in denial about the matter and were actively working towards resolving it.
"It's not something that we're oblivious to; it's a matter we're taking up with our colleagues who manage the resources of the country," the minister said.
Last week, Denosa and the Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union said they were concerned over the shortage of nurses in the country.
Denosa spokesperson Sibongiseni Delihlazo said that according to research conducted by the organisation, there were 20 000 unemployed nurses sitting at home.
He indicated that according to the data, Gauteng had about 10 000 unemployed nurses, followed by the Free State with 5 000, Limpopo 3 000, Mpumalanga 2 000, Western Cape 1 000, North West 500, the Eastern Cape 350 and there were 200 unemployed nurses in KwaZulu-Natal.
In a statement celebrating International Nurses Day, the president of the Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union, Lerato Maduma-Gova, lamented the shortage of health-care professionals in the country, saying it has led to nurses working in the public health sector facing almost double the workload.
"The country does not have enough nursing personnel, and this started long before the pandemic, and we still struggled terribly during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic,’’ said Maduma-Gova.
The SA Nursing Council said the provincial distribution of nursing manpower versus the population of South Africa suggests that there is one nurse for every 218 patients.
The Star