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Community service bill for nurses slammed
The Cape Argus
2003-12-11

Making nurses who are registering for the first time with the South African Nursing Council perform a one-year community service as proposed in the new Nursing Bill would worsen the shortage of nurses, hospital group Netcare said on Tuesday. Netcare's group nursing director Eileen Brannigan said the introduction of a year's community service would discourage the private sector, non-governmental organisations and other healthcare providers - like Hospice and Homes for the Aged - from helping to train nurses. While this effort to provide medical and nursing services to these areas is laudable, we are concerned that - as in the case of the doctors - it could encourage many of our newly trained nurses to find work in other countries rather than doing the community service. This would add to the already serious shortage of skilled nurses in South Africa. Brannigan said that there were already more than 30 000 vacancies for trained nurses in South Africa and not nearly enough nurses were being trained to meet the growing demand. According to South African Nursing Council records, there are currently just over 10 000 students in training in four academic years. Netcare itself is currently training around 1 200 of these students without any subsidy from the government. The company spent more than R80-million on nursing training during the 2003 financial year. Public sector nursing students already have to work back a two-year contract. It would therefore be easy to get them to do a year's community service as part of their practical training. However, to compel privately trained or self-funded individuals to work for the state through such a compulsory community service would be unfair and, disregard international nursing guidelines, Brannigan said.(Source: The Cape Argus 10 December 2003).

Making nurses who are registering for the first time with the South African Nursing Council perform a one-year community service stint as proposed in the new Nursing Bill would worsen the shortage of nurses, hospital group Netcare said on Tuesday.

Netcare's group nursing director Eileen Brannigan said the introduction of a year's community service would discourage the private sector, non-governmental organisations and other healthcare providers - like Hospice and Homes for the Aged - from helping to train nurses. 

"It will also discourage young people from entering the nursing profession," Brannigan said.

The bill explains that the purpose of the community service was to provide nursing care in rural and other under-serviced areas.

While this effort to provide medical and nursing services to these areas is laudable, we are concerned that - as in the case of the doctors - it could encourage many of our newly trained nurses to find work in other countries rather than doing the community service. This would add to the already serious shortage of skilled nurses in South Africa.

Brannigan said that there were already more than 30 000 vacancies for trained nurses in South Africa and not nearly enough nurses were being trained to meet the growing demand.

According to South African Nursing Council records, there are currently just over 10 000 students in training in four academic years. 

Netcare itself is currently training around 1 200 of these students without any subsidy from the government. The company spent more than R80-million on nursing training during the 2003 financial year.

Public sector nursing students already have to work back a two-year contract. It would therefore be easy to get them to do a year's community service as part of their practical training. However, to compel privately trained or self-funded individuals to work for the state through such a compulsory community service would be unfair and, disregard international nursing guidelines, Brannigan said.(Source: The Cape Argus 10 December 2003).

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