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[FILE] Nurses working in a hospital.
As South Africa marks Nurses Month, calls are growing for greater support and protection for healthcare workers, amid concerns of burnout, staff shortages and migration of nurses overseas.
Regional Manager at Charisma by Adcorp, Maggie Naidoo, says nurses remain central to the country’s healthcare system but often face immense pressure without adequate support.
Naidoo says the realities faced by nurses are often overlooked despite the critical role they play in healthcare delivery.
“So, nurses, um, at the end of the day, we need to understand are human beings, just like everybody else. And, you know, I think at the outset, we need to understand that when nurses are in a profession, there’s an automatic perception that they would be the strongest of the strong and the best of all, but people don’t realise they themselves need care. They need love, they need attention, they need strength and hope every day, because they come out of areas of challenges themselves.”
She says South Africa is also facing a growing loss of nurses to other countries.
“So, right now in South Africa, I think our biggest burden is the fact that a lot of our nurses are migrating to other countries, looking for better prospects, uh, easier working conditions, and there’s a lot of burnout where we are currently because our nurses are very limited at the moment.”
Naidoo says improving working conditions and providing more support would strengthen the healthcare system.
“For us to make healthcare, or our healthcare system, a better place, giving our nurses the ability to you know, showcase themselves and be the best that they can be. They need to have a lot of training, a lot of protection around them, creating better working spaces.”
She says nurses also face increasing legal and professional risks and should receive proper protection. Naidoo says better support, mentorship and training for nurses would help improve healthcare outcomes and build resilience within the health sector.
“If we want a better healthcare system that lasts, we must be able to build the people around it, and the nurses are the centre of all of that,” Naidoo says.
