South Africa is facing a critical shortage of nurses as private hospitals are restricted from training more, according to the country’s largest private healthcare network.
Though most South African hospitals have their own nursing colleges, only designated universities can issue professional nursing qualifications. The country has an estimated shortage of between 26,000 and 62,000 nurses, and a large number are expected to retire by 2030, said Netcare CEO Richard Friedland.
“The tragedy is we’ve got tens of thousands of people applying to become nurses every year and in a country that is beset by such a skills shortage, by rampant unemployment, it’s inexplicable that government isn’t opening the doors to allow the private sector to train,” he said.
Netcare has capacity to train more than 3,500 nurses a year, but has only been accredited to take about 10% of that, said Friedland. He said the company is collaborating with the government and other bodies to make better use of excess nursing college capacity.
“It’s akin to the Eskom crisis,” he said, referring to the crippling power cuts South Africa is facing because the state-owned company that supplies about 90% of the nation’s electricity, can’t meet demand from its dilapidated plants.
“The private sector, through the Hospital Association of South Africa, is galvanised. We’re exploring our options and we’re not excluding taking legal action.”
Nursing shortages are not unique to South Africa and many countries are facing shortages post-pandemic.
Netcare has reported a rise in paid patient days in the six months to March compared with a year earlier, and said it expects full-year revenue growth of between 9% and 12%.
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