Calls to shut city nursing college

THE YOUNG Nurses Indaba Trade Union (YNITU) has called for the immediate closure of Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College (HSNC) in Kimberley due to infrastructural challenges.

Members of the Democratic Nurses Organisation of South Africa (Denosa), the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) and the Public Servants Association (PSA) also participated in the protest on Tuesday.

Nursing students, lecturers and staff members picketed outside the offices of the MEC for Health and tyres were set alight.

They vowed to camp outside the offices until satisfactory answers were received.

YNITU general secretary Lerato Mthunzi advised that the 133 student nurses should be accommodated at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital or at an alternative suitable venue until all the structural defects at the nursing college were repaired.

“Students will not return to classes until they are provided with a safe environment that is conducive for learning. This is the only nursing college in the Province and it is in danger of being closed down, due to the fact that it has not yet been accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the South African Nursing Council (SANC) for it to continue to offer nursing education and training,” said Mthunzi.

She added that the reasons cited by the nursing regulatory and accreditation bodies were that the college lacked basic proper infrastructure, training resources and adequately qualified nursing educators.

“Students are studying in temporary dilapidated structures. They do not have a well-resourced library, a working printer or access to wi-fi. They do not have proper classrooms, textbooks or stationery. The state of nursing education is in a real crisis in the Province. The Department of Health in the Province has failed to build proper infrastructure and they have a responsibility to fix the problem.”

Nursing student Zoila Beukes said that they did not have any textbooks.

“We are studying from photocopies that were made from the textbooks since I started my first year.

They expect us to pass without books. Our living conditions are unacceptable. Most of us are living in guest houses, which represents a wasted cost to the department,” said Beukes.

“The ceilings of the residences where we are staying are collapsing and we are often without water or electricity. As health-care workers we are supposed to advocate for a healthy diet and yet we are not being offered nutritious meals.”

She stated that they were still occupying temporary classrooms that were constructed out of asbestos.

“One of the drivers who was implicated in a sexual harassment case was suspended although he is still employed by the department,” she added.

YNITU national organiser Kagisho Phajane pointed out that their long-standing grievances were not being addressed.

“The only language the government understands is when we demonstrate and burn tyres. We will sleep outside the offices until we get feedback. Why should students rush back to write exams if the institution is not accredited? The South African Council on Higher Education is supposed to deliver its verdict on whether the nursing college will receive accreditation on November 8,” said Phajane.

He added that the students did not have access to reliable transport.

“Students only receive a stipend of R1,500 that is not even enough to buy toiletries.”

Phajane advised that the college be allowed to manage its own budget.

“This will circumvent them from waiting upon the Department of Health for the provision of basic supplies. The college has run out of toilet paper.

“The new nurses accommodation was supposed to be completed a long time ago but yet there is no progress on site and we don’t know where the money has gone.”

It is believed that the contract with the last contractor on site, Gobeng Consulting Services, was terminated, while sub-contractors have still not received payment owed to them for several months.

The cost to complete the nursing accommodation has meanwhile drastically increased.

Department of Roads and Public Works spokesperson Crystal Robertson earlier this month advised that the department, along with the Department of Health, “would issue a comprehensive statement at a later stage” regarding the nursing accommodation project.

The spokesperson for the MEC for Health, Lebogang Majaha, stated that the provision and delivery of textbooks for nursing students had been addressed last week.

“We are expecting another batch of delivery this week,” added Majaha.

“We are not aware of any picketing, as this meeting was scheduled for August 23 to discuss the plight of college management and students. We will issue a comprehensive response following Tuesday’s meeting.”