Labour Matters

Private hospitals are staffed by highly skilled registered professional nurses. All these nurses are licensed by the South African Nursing Council and have completed their training. These nurses manage wards, units e.g. intensive care units and highcare as well as theatres, catheterization laboratories and emergency units. Registered nurses manage a team of staff nurses or enrolled nurses, auxiliary nurses and care workers.

Many private hospitals train undergraduate nurses. Student nurses work under supervision during their training and are accompanied by clinical tutors. Registered Nurses are also trained in Operating Room techniques, Intensive Care Nursing, Cardiac Care, Neonatal ICU and many more. Public Private Partnerships have also been implemented to promote the training of nurses.

In an audit conducted in June 2007, the following nurses were in training in the private hospital industry:

The following short course training is available:

• Recovery Room
  
• ICU
  
• Child Nursing
  
• Accident and Emergency
  
• Maternity
  
• PaediatricCardiac Care
  
• Neonatal ICU
  
• Infection Control
  
• Orthopaedic Nursing
  
• Operating Room
  
• Hicare
  
• Stomatherapy
  
• Care Workers

HASA has established a Nursing Sub-committee which is representative of all HASA member hospitals where all issues related to nursing and the training of nurses are discussed. These meetings are well attended and significant work has been done. The chairperson of this committee is an ad hoc member of the HASA board of directors and nursing matters is a permanent agenda item. Sharon Vasuthevan is the present chairperson serving on the HASA Board of Directors. Meetings are held quarterly at the HASA offices.

The HASA Sub-committee meetings are due to be held on:

    12 February 2008
    4 June 2008
    2 September 2008
    19 November 2008

For further information contact Sharon Slabbert.