Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa

Media statement

 

Thursday, 15 March 2018

 

DENOSA Gauteng Student Movement is urging all student nurses in Gauteng who will be off duty on friday the 16th of March to avail themselves for the march to the Gauteng Department of Health and Premier's office that has been organised by health trade unions. 

 

The march, which commence from Maryfitzgerald Square at 10h00, follows a meeting where the unions and the department of health could not find each other on PMDS of workers for both 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years as well as a sit in from the very same day the 13/03/18 at 15:00 to the 14/07/08.  

 

We believe as Student Movement that this march is an opportunity for us nursing students in Gauteng to break our silence and speak out with a united voice against all the problems that we find ourselves in as student nurses due to the carelessness of the Gauteng department of health. These challenges vary from the implementation of the bursary system, the shortage of professional nurses and lecturers in nursing education institutions throughout the province, and the challenges with regards to community service posts after completion of R425, as well as the reduced intake of nursing students after all processes of selection are done.  And there are many other challenges. 

 

The department of Health in this province has continued to enjoy taking decisions that will greatly affect the workers as well as the nursing students alone in its office despite the advice and suggestion from labour and colleges' SRCs. Such decision like the bursary system implementation that was done overnight and as quick as possible without proper planning has proved to be a complete disaster and a threat to the already struggling and poor quality health care system in the province. The department was warned prio to the implementation of this system in many ways but decided to continue. 

 

Nursing education will never have a chance of being what it is desired to be even with the highly committed and passionate lecturers in all Nursing Education Institutions and Universities with the high shortage of lecturers and Professional Nurses who will be able to assist the process of theoretical and experiential learning. We need to remind this department that for the community to receive quality care, a quality trained nurse is a need and without adequate and immediate addressing of shortages of academic staff the status quo will remain. 

 

The 2018 academic year started in a bad note wherein this department had already decided that there will be no nursing intake for 2018 even when all selection processes have already been completed. This was not acceptable and action was necessary and it resulted in a reduced nursing intake. We need to warn the department and make them know that their poor management of funds has got nothing to do with nursing, and they need to find another source to cut cost with as we will not allow any further reduction of nursing students going forward and that those students who were successful in the selection process must just get admitted for 2019 without going through selection process again. 

 

Furthermore, the safety of nursing students must also be a priority; this includes having access to transport (moving to and from nurses homes to clinical practice areas) and safe residential areas.  When this was communicated to the department it didn't receive the attention it deserved especially for students at universities in between semesters when there are no campus buses and residences are closed. The department needs to respond to calls for mantained, clean and safe nurses residences for the safety of students training towards becoming nurses. 

 

We further need to call for absorption and translation of all Community Service Nurses  into Professional Nurses sooner without wasting anytime. All frozen posts in Hospitals must to 'defrosted' with immediate effect. 

 

Pay our PMDS now! 

 

It is us Nursing Students who can deliver all these challenges that we face and are ignored by the Department of Health that has better priorities than all its workers who deliver basic and significant services to the people of South Africa residing in Gauteng! When we are United we become a powerful force to be reckoned with! 

 

Don't be tempted to be with all those who will be marching only in spirit and in flesh. 

 

End

 

Issued by DENOSA Gauteng Provincial Student Movement

 

For Inquiries, contact:

Markos Khensani Ndlovu: 072 683 8460

 

Provincial Organiser: Nathaniel Mabelebele: 082 767 7064

 

Provincial Secretary: Nonhlanhla Blaauw:  078 748 7835