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Daily News reports that the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) branch of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) is stopping its members from escorting patients from one health care facility to another.
The union said its members had been exploited and overworked for too long, with the Health Department “dragging its feet” on employing paramedics qualified to handle referrals and transfers. Mandla Shabangu, Denosa provincial secretary, indicated: “We told the department to stop this by the end of this month, but in a circular issued on January 10, the department said it would do away with the practice by May. This practice forces nurses to work outside of their professional scope and has been unfair to both nurses and staffing levels at health facilities. It is paramedics who should be doing this task as they are trained to do so.” He also said this practice undermined the nursing profession. Dr Imran Keeka, DA spokesperson for health, confirmed that the problem was the shortage of paramedics in the province. A department spokesperson did not address specific questions regarding the number of paramedics needed in the province.
- Read this report by Chris Ndaliso in full at Daily News
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page