Sunday Times - Sunday, 8 August, 2004
Claire Keeton

But Baragwanath plans to halve these vacancies by the end of the month, by making hundreds of appointments.

The public sector in Gauteng has 31.9% of health professional posts vacant - equivalent to the national average of 31.1%.

At Baragwanath nurses are in short supply, with 1 231 vacant nursing posts. Another 23 specialist posts, 42 doctors' posts and 26 pharmacists' posts need to be filled.

Hospital spokesman Hester van den Heever said the biggest problem was with pharmacists.

She said: "As a specialised hospital, we do not lack applicants. However, there are procedures and red tape in employing staff."

Staff shortages have exacerbated long waiting times for patients.

For minor surgery, the waiting time is about five weeks although booked cases are sometimes delayed.

Baragwanath's chief executive Dr Emma Bondarenko said the total waiting time for outpatients was about eight hours.

On average, outpatients waited:

Two hours, 20 minutes for clerks;

Three hours, 25 minutes for doctors; and

Two hours, 13 minutes for pharmacists.

Some patients, such as Wilson Ndlovu, 54, experienced much longer delays. He said he had not seen a doctor in six days for a urological problem.

"I have been coming here every day for almost a week but the people who work here do not seem to know where the urology clinic is."

Upset by the service, Ndlovu said he had got quicker treatment while a prisoner at Baviaanspoort, outside Pretoria.

Pensioners Shirley and Lucas Ramaboea were also in the long queue at casualty. She said they had spent the whole day at the hospital and were not sure if her husband would get a consultation that day.

Zola clinic had referred Ramaboea to the hospital for a kidney problem.

Van den Heever said that staff at the hospital were under constant pressure.

"The workload has increased and the staff has not," she said.

According to medical staff, HIV/Aids-related illnesses have put a strain on hospital services.

Last year 206 resigned, leaving behind 1,598 professionals.

The hospital has coped with nursing shortages by employing agency nurses in the interim.

The hospital has 2,888 beds available and about 70% bed occupancy - which can increase to 85% in winter.

Gauteng Democratic Alliance health spokesman Jack Bloom said that many Soweto patients still bypassed Baragwanath to go to the formerly whites-only hospitals of Helen Joseph and Joburg General.

"There is a mis perception that they provide a better standard of care," he said.

Gauteng health spokesman Popo Maja said that the department had tackled this problem. "The numbers bypassing Baragwanath have reduced dramatically... Baragwanath has excellent clinic care. The conditions have improved a great deal since the management reshuffle."

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