Tembisa Hospital patients are suffering due to a severe staffing crisis with the facility operating at less than half the required staff for a tertiary institution.
The hospital needs 4 926 staff members to provide decent care but currently has only 2 375 positions filled, with 140 vacancies.
These vacancies include critical positions such as 36 professional nurses, six staff nurses, 14 medical officers, and 11 cleaners.
This was all revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in a written reply to the DA’s questions in the Gauteng Legislature this week.
Nkomo-Ralehoko intimated that the hospital’s leadership vacuum further exacerbated the crisis, with no permanent CEO in place for over two years.
The former CEO, Dr Ashley Mthunzi, was suspended due to procurement irregularities, however, he died in April.
Four clinical department heads and a nursing manager positions remain unfilled while this year only 225 staff members have resigned, including 147 nurses and 43 doctors.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said clinical staff positions are being filled as they become available, but administrative and support posts remain frozen, awaiting approval.
The proposed Tertiary Structure, approved by the MEC, awaits approval from the Department of Public Service and Administration.
According to the MEC, this delay hinders the hospital’s ability to increase staff numbers to meet tertiary hospital norms.
The hospital has a history of procurement irregularities.
The facility has faced massive procurement irregularities, exposed by murdered whistle-blower Babita Deokaran.
The Special Investigating Unit estimates R3 billion was misspent over three years.
The DA in the province has vowed to continue fighting for Tembisa Hospital to receive sufficient resources to provide quality care to patients.
The party's shadow health minister, Jack Bloom, said the staffing crisis demanded urgent attention to prevent further suffering and ensure patients receive the care they deserve.
“It is incomprehensible that critical posts remain frozen while the hospital is overwhelmed by patients. There is also a delay in increasing the staff establishment in line with the norms for a tertiary hospital.
“It is scandalous that so little has been done to fully staff this hospital which has been hit by massive procurement irregularities, as exposed by Deokaran.”
Meanwhile, the department is still reeling from a devastating report by the Auditor-General, Tsakani Maluleke, revealing widespread financial mismanagement and gross misuse of state funds.
Some of what Maluleke has found is R590 million from the National Treasury service grant went unspent, despite long waiting lists for specialised medical treatments; R2.7 billion in irregular expenditure; R17 million in wasteful expenditure and R2.7 billion in impaired departmental income.
ActionSA in the province have sounded the alarm calling for action against those implicated.
“The report exposes a lack of effective leadership and management within the department. Incorrect and deceptive statistics provided by the department have undermined public confidence,” ActionSA member of the provincial legislature Emma More said.
She further called for accountability, specifically targeting department head Lesiba Malotana, saying he allegedly lacked necessary qualifications and faced allegations of R8 million in irregularities.
“The continued financial mismanagement degrades health-care services and undermines trust in our institutions… It is unacceptable that health-care facilities struggle while significant portions of the budget are wasted or mismanaged,” More said.
While More demanded urgent action against implicated officials, she also called for the regulation of civil service and equal access to health care for all Gauteng citizens.
Attempts to get comment from the department were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
The Star