Tag: Department of Health

Categories : HospitalsTags :

Department of Health in Last-minute Bid to Avoid Stand-off with Nurses over Uniforms

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Jeshoots Com on Unsplash

By Marecia Damons for GroundUp

The Department of Health is scrambling to avoid a stand-off with nurses who have threatened to work in their own clothes if a dispute over the provision of uniforms is not resolved.

Since 2005, nurses had received an annual allowance to buy their uniforms. But this ended on 31 March this year, after a new agreement was signed in the Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council in terms of which they would get uniforms instead.

As a result, nurses did not get the usual allowance in April – R2600 a year, according to Spokesperson for the Democratic Nursing Association of SA (DENOSA) Sibongiseni Delihlazo.

Instead, they were supposed to be provided with uniforms by 1 October 2023. The agreement stated that in the first year, government must provide nurses with four sets of uniforms, one pair of shoes, and one jersey. In the second year, government must provide three sets of uniforms, one belt, and one jacket.

The plan was that the procurement process would be centralised. But at another bargaining council meeting, in June 2023, the health department said it would be difficult to provide the uniforms on time.

Then on 12 July, Sandile Buthelezi, director-general for the DOH, issued a circular to all provincial health departments notifying them that the uniforms would be provided from January 2024 to January 2025.

The circular stated that the DOH would use a decentralised approach to providing uniforms by using provincial tenders.

“Provincial heads are responsible for participating and facilitating in tender processes through the bid specification in terms of colour, fabric composition and garment, development, review of the policy and monitoring and evaluation,” Buthelezi wrote.

Until January 2026, the circular said, nurses would be expected to wear the new uniform from Monday to Thursday and wear their old uniform from Friday to Sunday. From January 2026, when they would have both years’ issue, nurses would be expected to wear the new uniforms every day.

DENOSA responded to this a week later, and said the department’s circular went against the bargaining agreement.

Delihlazo said they proposed that if the department is unable to supply the uniform by 1 October, they must pay nurses an allowance as previously.

If the department failed to provide uniforms or pay an allowance, DENOSA said, its 84 000 members would embark on an indefinite protest action by wearing their own clothes to work from 1 October.

Delihlazo said the yearly allowance did not cover the cost of a full uniform. “Their uniforms are tearing and the colour is fading. So how can you expect nurses to wear uniforms if you don’t pay them a uniform allowance?”

He said the tender process meant the colour of the nurses’ uniforms and the quality of the fabrics might differ from one province to the next. The process also “opens a window of opportunity for corruption,” Delihlazo said. “Money may be given for uniforms but the tender process is porous.”.

Then, at a last-minute meeting of the bargaining council last Thursday, the department proposed to put on hold the supply of uniforms until 2024, according to a DENOSA statement. Meanwhile the health department would pay nurses an allowance of R3,153 by 30 November.

DENOSA said the agreement should be signed by the end of the week. If not, the union said, nurses would work in their own clothes.

The health department did not respond to GroundUp’s questions.

Republished from GroundUp under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Source: GroundUp

Categories : General InterestTags :

Suspensions of Top Health Officials are Imminent

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash

An article by the Daily Maverick reveals that a wave of suspensions in the Department of Health are impending as a result of the investigation into the Digital Vibes contract, which prompted the resignation of Dr Zweli Mkhize.

Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla said that he received a letter from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) which he would have to act on. 

Dr Phaahla said that “in the next few days and weeks there will unfortunately be some action and that will have some impact also on our capacity as a department”, adding that “when wrong things have happened and investigations have led to findings, then people have to be held answerable”.

However, Dr Phaahla said it was regrettable since “it will have an impact on our capacity, because from what I have seen, a number of people will have to be on suspension, pending charges.” He said it would be difficult for the vaccination programme as management staff were already stretched thin, but “it’s a consequence which must follow”. 

Drs Buthelezi and Pillay denied any knowledge of suspension, though the Daily Maverick has found out that referral for disciplinary action have been sent to the presidency.

The details of the SIU’s investigation have not been made public yet, although the Daily Maverick was able to tease out some details from an affidavit to set aside the Digital Vibes contract and to seeks to reclaim up to R150 million that was paid for the contract.

The affidavit further reveals that Dr Mkhize allegedly pressured the previous Director-General, Precious Matsoso, to employ Tahera Mather to be contracted for communication.

Precious Matsotso was replaced after an unblemished ten years by Dr Anban Pillay, who had been Deputy DG. Dr Pillay then became the active facilitator for the Digital Vibes contract, the affidavit suggests — a matter in which the DIU has also referred to the National Prosecuting Authority.

The current DG, Dr Sandile Buthelezi, who replaced Dr Pillay, is also noted as approving payments to Digital Vibes, though the DIU states it is not seeking any relief against him other than setting aside of relevant agreements.

The situation still has a way to run, with disciplinary inquiries, the Special Tribunal hearing and NPA investigations all ongoing. 

However, the Daily Maverick warns that it is clear that this critical government department is in “freefall” and will not have the capacity to deal with South Africa’s health challenges in the months and years to come.

Source: Daily Maverick

Categories : COVIDTags :

Department of Health COVID Vaccine Rollout Phase 2 Outlined

On By ModernMedia

The Department of Health’s COVID vaccine rollout has been fleshed out in a presentation, including details on how the vaccines will be distributed, and the jobs earmarked for the shots.

A presentation from the department indicates that the government has secured around 51 million vaccine doses, with 20 million from Pfizer and 30 million from Johnson & Johnson (J&J). However, it is unclear how the current pause in J&J administration in South Africa due to concerns about rare blood clots will affect immunisation schedules.

However, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced that South Africa has secured a further 10 million Pfizer vaccines.

“We can now guarantee that the number of people that will be vaccinated with Pfizer has increased from 10 to 15 million,” he said.

With the 30 million of the single-dose shots from J&J, the current planned rollout will cover about 45 million South Africans.

Dr Mkhize said that both the Pfizer and J&J agreements cost around $10 (R145) per vaccine, with non-refundable clauses.

“The agreements state that down-payments that have been made in advance by the department shall not be refundable by the manufacturer to us in any circumstances. This is another onerous term that we had to settle for,” Dr Mkhize told the committee.

Meanwhile, government was sent an email from J&J, which stated that the company will not sign off the 20 million doses until they receive a letter from the Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, expressing support for the local investment that they made in Aspen Pharmacare.

“We’ve been taken aback by this, as there are clauses in the agreement that express this support and acknowledge that this production will not just be limited to South Africa and the continent, but also targeted for the global market,” said Dr Mkhize.

The department indicated that the Pfizer vaccine will likely go to major metropolitans due to its larger pack size and refrigeration requirements, while the J&J vaccine with its less stringent refrigeration needs would be allocated to rural areas.

South Africa’s Phase 2 of the vaccine rollout is planned to begin in May and run until October, with essential workers over 40 and the elderly to be targeted in the programme. This is to include a focus on old age homes and care facilities, plus identifying those with co-morbidities.

The department provided an overview of occupations covered under the vaccine rollout, to include, among others, the police, army, social and municipal workers, and faith and traditional leaders. Private sectors could include mining, retail, transport, and manufacturing.

Source: BusinessTech