Mkhize concerned about staff exhaustion at Eastern Cape hospitals
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has expressed concern about staff exhaustion at hospitals in Eastern Cape.
The minister visited Port Elizabeth on Tuesday amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in the province.
Mkhize admitted that staff exhaustion at the various hospitals across the province is a concern.
"That issue is a serious problem, which I think we asked all the provinces must work out a plan that helps the staff as we go through that.
"As part of the issue of exhaustion is not necessarily a physical issue, it’s a matter of mental strain associated with the way we organise the work and the amount of information that people have when they deal with the problem. The extent that they are able to get a short time of rest, and the way we organise the flow of staff so that people get some sort of relief.
"But it is linked also to feeling safe, where people fear that they might get infected and infect their families.”
Mkhize says a committee will continue to monitor the availability of personal protective equipment in the province.
“The first decision we took was that no PPE, no work, and every place must have an occupational and safety committee and as the committee it will tell us if there is a complaint. Secondly, we are going to have a stock visibility system which basically tracks the movement of PPEs from the central supplies to the facility.”
