Health ministry freezes jobs for nurses
The ministry of health and social services has frozen all vacant positions in the ministry because of financial constraints.
In a letter addressed to the associate dean of the Unam Nursing School, Dr Louise Pretorius, dated 13 October, the health ministry's permanent secretary, Andreas Mwoombola, expressed hope that the financial situation would soon improve to enable the ministry to hire nursing graduates.
A ministry spokesperson, Sister Libita Manga, yesterday confirmed that the letter was the “real deal”.
“The ministry has its own nursing department which usually goes out to nursing schools to see how many nurses are graduating in order to make provision for them, but this time it will not be the case,” she said.
This notice came exactly two months after the ministry in August suspended the appointment of non-Namibian nurses, as well as the retention-of-service contracts of nurses over the age of 60.
According to the ministry's public relations office 714 foreign health professionals are currently employed by the ministry. Among them are 314 registered nurses.
“Please note that the Zimbabwean nurses are still working here because they only go as their contracts come to end. In other words they will leave on different dates and not all at once,” said Manga.
Unam spokesperson Simon Namesho said the health ministry takes up most of the nursing school's graduates but a number of graduates enter the private health sector.
“Nursing students who graduating this year are 189, including 50 Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery graduates and 139 Bachelor of Nursing Science graduates.
“The majority of the students enrolled for the diploma course are registered nurses employed by the ministry, and usually, after successfully completion of their studies, they return to their workplaces,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
In a letter addressed to the associate dean of the Unam Nursing School, Dr Louise Pretorius, dated 13 October, the health ministry's permanent secretary, Andreas Mwoombola, expressed hope that the financial situation would soon improve to enable the ministry to hire nursing graduates.
A ministry spokesperson, Sister Libita Manga, yesterday confirmed that the letter was the “real deal”.
“The ministry has its own nursing department which usually goes out to nursing schools to see how many nurses are graduating in order to make provision for them, but this time it will not be the case,” she said.
This notice came exactly two months after the ministry in August suspended the appointment of non-Namibian nurses, as well as the retention-of-service contracts of nurses over the age of 60.
According to the ministry's public relations office 714 foreign health professionals are currently employed by the ministry. Among them are 314 registered nurses.
“Please note that the Zimbabwean nurses are still working here because they only go as their contracts come to end. In other words they will leave on different dates and not all at once,” said Manga.
Unam spokesperson Simon Namesho said the health ministry takes up most of the nursing school's graduates but a number of graduates enter the private health sector.
“Nursing students who graduating this year are 189, including 50 Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery graduates and 139 Bachelor of Nursing Science graduates.
“The majority of the students enrolled for the diploma course are registered nurses employed by the ministry, and usually, after successfully completion of their studies, they return to their workplaces,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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