The government’s intention to launch a National Health Insurance already appears to be incoherent. Apart from the only two days the members were given to an advisory committee to determine which medical conditions would be covered, another “massive problem” has now emerged:
Prospective nursing staff are hampered by the accreditation of Institutions where they had to be trained, apparently placed on the long track. This means that no nursing staff will be trained next year. Currently, there is an estimated ratio of 1 nurse to 1,000 patients nationwide and this ratio will continue to deteriorate.
Another problem is students who want to be trained as nurses for Intensive care, neonatal care and pediatrics, trauma, and casualty posts. Maintaining our current primary health care is already showing serious shortcomings and will now be further undermined.
If the Minister of Health, Zwelini Mkhizi remains apathetic to this problem, the
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