Media statement Thursday, 05 June 2014 DENOSA North West appalled by dangerous unilateral decision to close down Mmabatho Nursing College This decision almost equates to genocide of communities around Mafikeng The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) North West would like to register its disapproval of the inconsiderate and unilateral decision by management of Mmabatho Nursing College to give nursing students less than 24 hours to vacate the institute, with 10h00 today being the deadline, as this would result in fewer nurses around North West health institutions. DENOSA would like to call upon the department of health in the province to look into the matter urgently, because the consequences of this could be dire for communities as it could almost equate to genocide due to shortage of nurses that has always been a problem. This old style management approach has opted for this disastrous decision following its refusal to reach a consensus with student representative body after the SRC has tabled a grievance concerning the continuous late arrival of student nurses at clinics and hospitals for work because of transport shortage. Of the 343 students that rely on the college’s five 22-seater buses, only a handful arrive on time at work to receive handover reports from previous night shift nurses (this is done at 06h45 am every day, and it is the most important part for any nurse to understand the true conditions of the patients in the ward that they will be working in for the next 12 hours). The SRC at the institution has engaged the management since the 8th of May 2014, when students felt nothing was being done about this serious problem timeously. DENOSA has since got involved in multilaterals with the institution, together with the department of health in the province. “We were informed that nothing can be done this whole year, and that this problem can only be resolved next year. We feel this is hugely unfair to welfare of students who still need to gain as much practical knowledge in the clinical setting as possible, because the handover period at institutions is the most critical in this regard,” says SRC president at the college, Tshepo Tshepo Wa Monoketsitsi. What this decision means is that the health institutions around Mafikeng are more than 343 nurses less since the 8th of May, and this has disastrous consequences for communities who need urgent care, and DENOSA cannot approve that in its lifetime. When the SRC engages the management, the management easily opts for a court interdict against student leadership. As a result many student leaders have been barred from the institution for standing for the rights of students. While students should be deployed across clinics and hospitals around Mafikeng and Rustenburg, the institution has not been able to do so due to the fact that this will mean either more transport or accommodation costs for students, as they all reside in the Mmabatho college residence. The SRC appeals for two things as a solution: the increase of transport or payment of accommodation for students to stay nearer the health institutions, or the provision of transport fare for those to be taken at later trips. End Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) North West For more information, contact: Tshepo Monoketsi, SRC President at Mmabatho Nursing College: 079 501 5808 Thabiso Mokgosi, DENOSA Full Time Shop Steward: 079 501 5288
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 07:52:52 +0000
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