An intervention team has been dispatched to the Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital in Soweto‚ which has seen jobs being sold and a staff member doing private work while on "leave"‚ amid other challenges. The Times quotes Gauteng Health as saying it had investigated a public complaint and discovered "this hospital has labour relations challenges and other issues that relates to the selling of jobs which had affected the hospital significantly".
"To date 11 employees had been dismissed‚ nine had resigned‚ and two had absconded from their positions. Further investigations are under way in this regard to ensure wrong doers are brought to book‚" the department said. A clinical manager was also found to have been absent and doing remunerative work outside the public service without permission. He resigned before disciplinary measures could take place. "We want to follow up this area of absenteeism. It’s very rare for many of our doctors and nurses who work hard‚ but where it happens we need to be intolerant‚" said the department.
The report says a seven-member intervention team has been set up‚ and will be based in the hospital for three months. The team members are Dr Richard Lebethe – deputy director-general for clinical services; T Gwebindlala – a responsible for infrastructure development; Dr P Selepe – senior clinical director at CHBAH and a member of the provincial patient experience of care committee; I Motloung – deputy nursing services manager; Dr M Tsitsi – head of internal medicine at Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital; G Nkomo – director human resources at head office; and P Mthethwa – from the Chief Directorate Hospital Services.
"This team will work with the district managers who are responsible for this hospital as well as the hospital management to ensure that we stabilise services‚ work in a co-ordinated manner in the best interest of patient safety and quality health care‚" the department said. "This hospital is an important asset which provide essential services to the people of Soweto and we’ll spare no effort to ensure that services improves and we support the team at all times."
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-09-29-selling-of-jobs-at-soweto-hospital-prompts-dismissals/"]The Times report[/link]