Staff Reporter
The Free State province says it will employ 1 000 nurses from the beginning of April as it steps up efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Premier Sisi Ntombela told a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon that the nurses are expected to ease pressure at the Pelonomi Hospital isolation facility in Bloemfontein as well as at other district hospitals earmarked for admitting patients who test positive to the COVID-19.
“We are going to employ 1 000 staff nurses to ensure everything goes well,” said Ntombela after a lengthy meeting with heads of municipalities and MECs to iron out the provincial strategy to tackle the pandemic.
The Free State has not recorded any cases of the COVID-19 but the premier said she was meeting with different stakeholders to ensure the province will be ready should any cases be recorded.
South Africa has about 116 confirmed cases.
Ntombela said Pelonomi Hospital only had 38 beds in the isolation unit so the province will also utilise beds at district hospitals should the situation require.
“We have decided to arrange with other hospitals so that if anything happens, we will have other hospitals ready. We will have a total of 114 beds, including those at district hospitals,” she explained.
Health MEC Montsheng Tsiu said they will used beds Alfred Nzula Hospital in Trompsburg and Senorita Nhlabathi Hospital in Ladybrand as they were not fully utilised at all times.
She said the new nurses, who will be hired on contract, will be charged with tracing those who may have made contact with those who test positive because this has proved to be a challenge in other areas.
“We are having a challenge of tracing the people who made contact with those who test positive,” Tsiu said.
“So, as the Free State, we were advised to appoint 500 enrolled nursing assistants but the EXCO (provincial executive council) on Monday said we must add another 500 to make it a thousand.
“We would want to be able to go and find those people who would have been exposed to the coronavirus.”
Asked by journalists if the hiring of the nurses was an indication that there were shortages, Tsiu admitted there was a shortage of nurses in the province but was quick to point out that there is no money to hire them on a permanent basis.
“Of course there is shortage . . . but this is an emergency and we have to act. We are hiring them on contract and we will see how it goes going further,” added the MEC.
Tsiu said the provincial government was also engaging private hospitals to see the possibility of utilising some of their beds should the need arise.
The departments of Police, Roads and Transport; Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs; Social Development; and Education as well as the South Africa Local Government Association also outlined their plans in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 during the briefing.