Crisis looms at Bloemfontein academic hospital

Cape Town - The exodus of doctors and medical specialists from the Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein has reached crisis point, with many saying the problem lies with the poor managerial style of the hospital’s new chief executive Dr Sehularo Gaelejwe.

According to the Sunday Times, staff are particularly concerned about the cardiology department – which is on the brink of collapse - as the remaining two specialists are about to leave.

One general surgeon who left the hospital last month said he did so as the salaries in the public health service were much lower than in the private sector. He said the situation at the hospital was quite dire and that it is heading towards a crisis.

However, despite mounting concerns, provincial health department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi denied that patient care, teaching and research would be compromised because of the recent flood of resignations.

Echo of a year ago

The situation at Universitas echoes a very similar situation a year ago at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg, when officials denied a crisis at the hospital, according to SAPA.

Reports were that doctors were threatening to resign because of a dispute around overtime payments. Authorities denied that there was a problem, saying that the situation was a part of an ongoing effort to strengthen the processes which governed renumeration.