‘We have no pool to recruit from,’ reveals Gladys Zola, who is both acting hospital manager and the nursing manager for King Edward.
‘We are the biggest institution in the province KwaZulu-Natal with specialist doctors rendering tertiary services, but we just don’t have enough nurses,’ says Zola.
‘Our hospital is no longer a site for nurses training. This now happens only at Addington and RK Khan Hospitals, and these hospitals absorb all the nurses that they train,’ says Zola.
Last month, she advertised 32 posts for professional nurses but only seven people applied for the jobs. Some of these were not properly qualified.
Zola pages through the staff book, pointing out that 24 nurses resigned in March alone. Ten nurses have died this year, while a number of others applied for transfers to other hospitals, particularly the new Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital and Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in Umlazi.
The attraction of IALCH is the fact that the work load is not as heavy and the hospital is fully computerised.
Prince Mshiyeni is able to attract staff as it is able to pay its staff an extra 8% ‘inhospitable allowance’. Only two hospitals in the country have been allowed by the Department of Health to offer this allowance (the other is Umtata Hospital).
The inhospitable allowance was introduced along with rural allowances and allowances for ‘scarce skills’ in 2003.
Nurses with qualifications in theatre, intensive care or oncology can earn an additional 10% as these are deemed ‘scarce skills’.
‘When I conduct the exit interviews with nurses, those that are not going overseas say that they need more money and ask if I can give them an increase of 8% or 18%, as some will be getting. Of course, I can’t. So they go,’ says Zola.
‘Professional nurses with theatre and midwifery skills are the hardest to find,’ she adds.
‘One of the biggest challenges of managing this hospital is the huge staff turnover.’
E-mail Kerry Cullinan
