More than 100 extra posts approved at the Gauteng hospital where 10 babies recently died were never filled because of lack of budget, writes MedicalBrief. The neonatal unit was left with only 19 staff in a 40-person unit.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng says it has learnt that 103 extra staff posts were approved at Tembisa Hospital a year ago, but there were no funds to fill them. News24 quotes the party's provincial health spokesperson Jack Bloom said he had uncovered this during an unannounced visit to the hospital last Friday. Bloom said staff at the hospital's Ward 5 neonatal ICU unit informed them that only 19 staff members were working at the unit, while 40 were needed to operate it.
According to Tembisa Hospital CEO Dr Lekopane Mogaladi, the hospital has been managing to control Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) klebsiella, cases which averaged two a month from January to October last year, Bloom said. It was previously reported that 10 babies died at Tembisa Hospital's neonatal unit between November and December last year, due to a Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) outbreak.
Bloom said the deaths could have been avoided if President Cyril Ramaphosa "had listened and acted effectively" when he visited the hospital in 2018. He said the "failed promises" within the health sector would lead to more avoidable deaths in hospitals.
[link url="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/tembisa-hospital-still-short-staffed-despite-govt-promises-says-da-after-surprise-visit-20200126"]Full News24 report[/link]
See also
[link url="https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/cre-outbreak-and-10-baby-deaths-in-gauteng-hospital-blamed-on-overcrowding/"]CRE outbreak and 10 baby deaths in Gauteng Hospital blamed on overcrowding[/link]
[link url="https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/overcrowding-tembisa-hospital-danger-patients-say/"]Overcrowding at Tembisa Hospital a danger, patients say[/link]
[link url="https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/human-rights-commission-wants-full-investigation-tembisa-hospital/"]Human Rights Commission wants full investigation into Tembisa Hospital[/link]