Lack of planning and support leaves 600 nursing students and 98 staff members stranded
5 April 2018
The Democratic Alliance in North West has written to the MEC for Health, Dr Makgome Masike, requesting immediate intervention at the Excelsior Nursing College in Klerksdorp.
Nearly 600 nursing students and 98 staff members were “forcefully removed” from the existing campus that is undergoing renovations to the West End building in the CBD.
Upon arrival on Wednesday 5 April 2018, staff found that there is no furniture or computers, no access to the internet, telephone lines or teaching resources on the new premises. We confirmed these allegations during our visit. See photos here, here and here.
Instead, we were greeted with huge empty rooms that are in dire need of new carpets, paint and cleaning. There is also, to the dismay of the students, no access to a library.
Staff were extremely upset that they received an official letter threatening them, that should they fail to participate in the move, disciplinary action will be taken against them. They cannot understand why they must come to work to stand around all day when they had workable offices on the renovation site. Some were even sitting in their cars during their lunch hour as they had nowhere to go.
During our oversight visit to both the old college and the new offices, we engaged in informal conversation with students, a meeting with staff and union members and it is apparent that the whole relocation process was not properly thought through.
Staff are in the dark about when the necessary resources will arrive and some senior members acknowledged that they were let down by MEC Masike’s office.
It is also not clear where the money will come from to ensure the offices and classrooms are ready to ensure quality teaching and learning take place.
We are in dire need of well-trained nursing staff – especially in the rural areas where people are reliant on government clinics and hospitals. This is a scarce skill and our nursing students and training staff deserve proper resources and support to execute their daily duties.
This is another ANC failure in the North West. The Department of Health is in shambles and their reputation stained by the Mediosa scandal. They would rather splash R30 million on the illegal Gupta contract than to empower our future nursing staff with proper facilities and resources.
North West is in need of Total Change where the government puts the people first. Medical care is a basic constitutional right and we should ensure we send out the best-trained nursing staff to serve our communities.
Issued by Tutu Faleni, DA North West Spokesperson on Health and Education, 5 April 2018
