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Outcomes of the DENOSA Learner Movement meeting
Media statement
Tuesday, 07 July 2015
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa’s (DENOSA) National Learner Movement held its second National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting over the weekend from Saturday until Sunday at the DENOSA Head Office in Pretoria wherein it discussed and resolved on a number of pertinent issues regarding nursing education and practice in the country.
On challenges experienced by community service nurses
The Learner Movement has noted with great sadness the recent developments in the manner in which community service nurses receive the thick end of the stick in various provincial departments, where their absorption into the health system has not been prioritised.
In Free State, Community Service nurses are not being absorbed into the system, seven months after they should have been placed. In the main, the South Africa Nursing Council (SANC) and nursing colleges are the main reason behind this problem. Documents are submitted to SANC by March although exams are finished in November the previous year.
The challenge at institutions is that the moderators finish marking the papers only when they have returned from holidays as they are only marked around January, February and March. Students have to sit at home for further six months before they get placed at institutions.
The MEC of Health in Free State has shown sheer arrogance whenever this matter is raised with him and has long lost interest in entertaining it. As Learner Movement, we are running short of saying we are losing this battle as departments lack both political and administrative will to accommodate community service nurses according to the book. To prove lack of administrative will, departments are not collaborating with the Nursing Act as they don’t do proper HR planning for community service nurses to be placed on time.
As proof of lack of political will, Free State Premier Ace Magashule announced in his budget speech in February this year that the province will import 100 nurses from Cuba who will be deployed at Free State’s primary health care facilities. This is despite the fact that the province has trained nurses with taxpayers’ money and some of the same nurses are now sitting at home without employment.
Corruption is manifesting itself in a bad way with various departments of health in provinces. DENOSA National Learner Movement warns that this consistent move is against the agreement between student nurses and the provincial departments.
What DNLM finds ironic is that there are students who are from Free State and doing nursing at some of the nursing colleges in KwaZulu-Natal at the expense of the Free State government while there are students who study at Free State institutions from Northern Cape and who get absorbed in Northern Cape health institutions. It is only Free State students that do not get absorbed into health facilities in the province, and their sitting at home becomes a wasteful expenditure, when they are needed at health centres throughout the province. DENOSA calls on Free State to get its house in order, administratively.
In North West province, more than 250 community service nurses were notified that they must not come to work as of July because the Department does not have money to place them in health facilities. DENOSA has announced its intention to take a legal route against the Department in the province. As DNLM, we fully support this move. As the country is in short of professional nurses who are able to manage wards, and tends to produce more nurses of lower categories, to abandon community service nurses will only bring chaos to the country’s health facilities as queues will become longer and community outrage will increase. Community members are not aware of these different categories in nurses and see all nurses as equal, where their responsibilities differ.
DENOSA National Learner Movement calls on the intervention of the National Department Health in provinces like Free State and North West where community service nurses are abandoned.
On mushrooming of bogus nursing colleges
The Learner Movement has also noted with great concern the mushrooming of bogus nursing colleges in provinces like Gauteng. This disadvantages students who only get surprised when they find out that there are not able to register with SANC after they have paid their monies to these institutions, because such institutions are not accredited by the country’s regulatory body for nursing, the South Africa Nursing Council (SANC).
The disadvantage of this tendency is that students who study at bogus nursing colleges are not allowed to practice as nurses in South Africa. Even if an institution is accredited by SANC, if programmes offered at such institution are not accredited by SANC, students will still not be allowed to practice as nurses in South Africa.
The Learner Movement urges all current and potential student nurses to ensure that they check if the institution they intent to study at is registered with SANC. They can do this by checking it on the SANC website: www.sanc.co.za or contact SANC call centre: 012 420 1000.
On compromised security in many institutions
The Learner Movement notes that compromised security in many health institutions and nursing colleges is a serious concern that must be addressed by authorities. Crucial equipment that assist student with their studies such as laptops and computers get stolen as a result of lack security. This typifies the lack of security at health institutions where health professionals get attacked while on duty.
In provinces like Mpumalanga, where security personnel has been cut by about 50%, the safety of health professionals, student nurses and patients alike has become a matter of grave concern.
We further call on our provincial structures to run with Positive Practice Environment campaign on safety and security that will strive for safety and security at the workplace and also at the residences. We resolved on developing a discussion document that will speak to our security needs both at the workplace and residence.
On National Health Games
As part of inculcating a culture of fighting non-communicable diseases among health professionals, the Learner Movement will be hosting the National Health Games in December in Port Elizabeth where student nurses throughout the country will be taking part in the health games. We will be having community outreach campaigns in surrounding communities that will drive the message of healthy lifestyle. We will be having a fun walk as the organisation as well as other sporting codes that will primarily focus on health benefits. We will engage all relevant stakeholders to form part of the National Health Games. There will be a career exhibition conducted.
On International Relations
We welcome the release of the Cuban Five and welcome their recent visit on our shores as it signifies the strengthening of relations between the two countries. However, we condemn the importing of labour as our people are deprived of opportunities and preference is given to imported labourers. We believe that South Africa has enough facilities to produce enough skilled young people. In this regard, we are strongly opposed to the intention by the Free State government to further import 100 nurses into the country.
We will engage work with nursing unions from SADC countries to establish a student formation within the respective nursing organisations. We are disturbed by recent development in Lesotho and welcome the immediate intervention from SADC. We further call on the Swaziland monarchy to release all political prisoners. We believe that South Africa as well as African countries should withdraw from the ICC treaty as we can see that the ICC is targeting only African leaders. We further call for boycotting of Woolworths as it is importing goods from Israel which is perpetually oppressing the people of Palestine. Free Palestine.
Free Nursing Education Campaign
We are calling for free nursing education across all levels of socio-economic strata. We believe that the state should be the only provider of nursing education across the country. We want the same treatment of student nurses in nursing colleges and universities. We call on the government to close all private nursing colleges as they are charging students exorbitant amounts. We note that some private nursing colleges are prohibiting students from becoming members of DENOSA, which is an unfair labour practice and a violation of constitutional rights of students. We are to have nationwide campaign on free nursing education.
End
Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa National Learner Movement (DNLM)
For more information, contact:
Tshepo Monoketsi, DENOSA National Learner Movement Chairperson
Mobile: 0795015808
Or
Nkululeko Mapaila, DENOSA National Learner Movement Secretary
Mobile: 0784112856
Facebook: DENOSA National Page
Twitter: @DENOSAORG
