3 July 2009
Academics have thrown their weight behind the cause of striking doctors, raising concerns about the deteriorating conditions in state hospitals.
This comes as doctors in the province were set to meet again at Tygerberg and Groote Schuur to discuss the way forward today.
On Wednesday, doctors and pharmacists across the province unanimously rejected government's final wage offer, and said they would continue the strike. Affected hospitals included Groote Schuur, Tygerberg, Somerset and GF Jooste.
The Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch said current conditions impacted on the ability of health care workers to render professional services.
"The present crisis is stressful for individual patients, communities and health professionals. The universities are concerned that clinical service to patients and teaching and training to medical students and medical specialists will be severely compromised if the crisis is not addressed and escalates," said Associate Professor Gonda Perez, on behalf of the Committee of Medical Deans at UCT.
The committee encouraged all parties to seek an urgent resolution, to reconcile the delivery of quality services, with fair treatment of patients.
Perez urged doctors and health care workers to end the protest and to consider the latest government offer "as the minimum starting point".
The deans called on National Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, to reinstate dismissed doctors in KwaZulu-Natal "as an act of good faith".
The committee said the public health care sector needed health care workers to be appropriately remunerated for the crucial services they rendered. They said that they supported the non-financial incentives such as career pathing and improved infrastructure and conditions of services.
The Faculty of Health Sciences of Stellenbosch University said it supported the fight for better working conditions, and appropriate salaries.
The university said it had noted with concern the deterioration of clinical and training facilities in state and academic hospitals such as Tygerberg.
These adverse conditions have the potential to compromise the standard and quality of health services, training and research, said acting Dean Prof Marietjie de Villiers.
In a statement yesterday, De Villiers said one of the key factors to enhance the training platform for students in health sciences was the recruitment and retention of excellent staff.
However, this was only possible if training facilities could provide optimal working conditions and appropriate remuneration for staff.
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal doctors were the first to announce the suspension of their strike for a week after the South African Medical Association, and Cosatu brokered talks that would allow the reinstatement of dismissed medical practitioners in the province.
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