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The Democratic Alliance is calling for the provincial government to prioritize the accreditation of the Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College in Kimberley, given that the institution is unlikely to have a new intake of nursing students this year due to ongoing accreditation delays.

Accreditation issues have plagued the college over the years, hampering the turnout of nurses. While Acting HOD of Health, Riaan Strydom, told the legislature portfolio committee last week that accreditation had been received from the South African Nursing Council (SANC), accreditation from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) was still outstanding and would most likely only allow for a new nursing intake in January.

This means that another year is wasted in addressing the nursing crisis in the Northern Cape, where quality of care is compromised at health facilities across the province and surgery backlogs continue to grow at the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe hospital due to a lack of theatre nurses.

According to a reply to a parliamentary question by Health Minister Joe Phaahla last year, the Northern Cape had 226 nurse vacancies. Given that the provincial health department’s reports continue to show that staff terminations outweigh staff appointments, it is likely that this situation has since worsened.

The International Council of Nurses last week also declared the global shortage of nurses as a global health emergency, emphasizing the severity of the situation and the urgent need for the Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College to be churning out high quality young nursing personnel, as a matter of urgency.

The DA calls on the Department of Health in conjunction with the Office of the Premier, to pay more attention to getting the nursing college up and running, in a sustainable and highly quality manner, that will not continue to hamper the provision of nursing education in this province.

Issued by Dr Isak Fritz, MPL - DA Spokesperson of Health