Decisions about whether to fill vacant posts were considered monthly, the minister said.
“Not all vacant posts can be filled simultaneously. This has resulted in stringent measures being implemented to control the filling of positions to avoid over expenditure on compensation of employees,” he said.
The reduction in headcount had increased the workload for remaining staff, leading to higher stress levels and decreased job satisfaction, said Motsoaledi.
He assured parliament the remaining staff “continue to provide good quality clinical services”, but conceded having fewer personnel negatively affected the number of patients that could be attended to.
In addition to the funding crisis for recruitment, provincial health departments faced the further challenge that South Africa had a shortage of some professional categories, including ophthalmologists, psychiatrists, theatre nurses and ICU nurses, Motsoaledi said.
Sick South Africans forced to wait as provincial health posts stand empty
All provinces are scrambling to deliver services with fewer doctors, nurses and senior managers, health minister Aaron Motsoaledi tells parliament
Image: 123RF/KATARZYNA BIALASIEWICZ
Budget cuts implemented by the National Treasury have hobbled provincial health departments’ ability to fill posts, placing strain on the remaining staff and forcing patients to wait longer for care, health minister Aaron Motsoaledi has told parliament.
All provinces are scrambling to deliver services with fewer doctors, nurses and senior managers, he said in a written response to questions from ActionSA MP Kgosi Letlape.
The vacancy rates for doctors ranged from 22.4% in the Free State to 5.5% in the Western Cape, while that for nurses ranged from 28% in the Free State to 5% in the Eastern Cape.
More than two-fifths of the senior management positions in the Northern Cape are vacant. The Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga reported about a quarter of their posts for senior managers were unfilled.
The February budget set aside a consolidated health budget that grows by a nominal 3.4% over the medium-term. This was below the Treasury’s estimate that inflation would average 4.7% over the next three years, meaning the budget shrinks in real terms.
Image: Dorothy Kgosi
Decisions about whether to fill vacant posts were considered monthly, the minister said.
“Not all vacant posts can be filled simultaneously. This has resulted in stringent measures being implemented to control the filling of positions to avoid over expenditure on compensation of employees,” he said.
The reduction in headcount had increased the workload for remaining staff, leading to higher stress levels and decreased job satisfaction, said Motsoaledi.
He assured parliament the remaining staff “continue to provide good quality clinical services”, but conceded having fewer personnel negatively affected the number of patients that could be attended to.
In addition to the funding crisis for recruitment, provincial health departments faced the further challenge that South Africa had a shortage of some professional categories, including ophthalmologists, psychiatrists, theatre nurses and ICU nurses, Motsoaledi said.
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