Disgruntled doctors at Dr Harry Surtie Hospital in Upington, in the Northern Cape, held a protest during their lunch hour on Wednesday of last week to draw attention to a lack of staff and overtime hours they say are leading to burnout. TimesLIVE reports that close to 50 medical staff working at the hospital held posters saying “There’s no vaccine for burnout” and chanting “We want doctors”.
“On average doctors are working their 40-hour work week plus between 100-140 hours of overtime a month. This is not sustainable and is leading to burnout and frustration among doctors,” said a letter of grievances, which was handed over to hospital management during the protest.
According to their letter, the 327-bed regional hospital, which has a 24-hour casualty, labour ward and theatre complex, is staffed by 36 doctors. They say this is grossly insufficient to adequately serve the population in the area.
The report says doctors have threatened to hold another protest if their grievances are not addressed and said they would consider staging a stayaway if they are not assisted by the Health Department by next week.
[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-02-04-watch-overworked-doctors-strike-for-more-staff-at-northern-cape-hospital/"]Full TimesLIVE report (Open access)[/link]