Fiery nurse activist Fikile Dikolomela-Lengene says she has had a front-row seat to corruption unfolding in Gauteng’s public health sector and she is not afraid to speak out. Biénne Huisman chatted to Dikomela-Lengene, who calls herself ‘Sr Fikx’ because she wants to influence change in the public health sector.
Nurses make up a large part of the healthcare workforce in South Africa, but almost half of them are set to retire in the next 15 years. This suggests existing shortages of nurses will become even greater unless we take concrete steps to boost nurse training and retention. Elna Schütz reports.
A recent study published in The Lancet medical journal suggests that employing more nurses can result in cost savings double the cost of employing the additional nurses. The study was conducted in Australia but may well have important implications for nursing in South Africa. Tiyese Jeranji reports.
As South Africa’s COVID-19 numbers continues to rise, long-simmering healthcare worker complaints are boiling over. Tiyese Jeranji spoke to trade union representatives from Hospersa, Denosa, Nehawu and YNITU about salary disputes, staff shortages, healthcare workers safety, psychological strain, and access to personal protective equipment.
