"The only 'looming crisis' at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital is only in the minds of those who want government to turn a blind eye to the abuse of overtime and getting less value for public money," said Health MEC Hope Papo to journalists who quizzed him on the allegations that some doctors have threatened to live the department.
According to the journalists, some doctors at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital have warned of a "looming crisis" as they are threatening the department with resignations, after the department tightened its controls over overtime and the granting of permission to healthcare workers to do Remunerative Work Outside of the Public Service (RWoPS).
"One of the priorities in the Ten Point Plan is overhauling the healthcare system and improve its management," Papo explained. "This means ensuring that government gets value for its money and we therefore cannot allow healthcare professionals to be paid for not being at work."
The Gauteng Health Department decided to strengthen the management of overtime and RWoPS following evidence that many professionals were abusing these. The professionals involved are full time employees of the department who are expected to be at work for all paid hours including commuted overtime in the case of clinicians. However; many would demand overtime and also that they be given permission to leave their work posts and be working, for remuneration, elsewhere whilst receiving full pay from government.
Ndoda Biyela, Acting Head of Health, explained that the department engaged hospital Chief Executive Officers and Clinical Managers to look at ways of strengthening the management of overtime and RWoPS. A collective decision was that stricter control measures were needed. These include, ensuring full allocation of healthcare professionals for the time they are paid so that there is full coverage of all areas of healthcare delivery, at all times, making sure that patient care is not compromised.
"Once all healthcare professionals have been fully allocated for their paid time, including commuted overtime, we would then consider approving appropriate option for overtime," continued Biyela. "This could be one of the five applicable options. These are; A - doctor does not calls, B- doctor does between four and eight hours a week, C- doctor does between 9 & 12 hours a week, D- between 13&20 hours per week and option E, where there is a need, may approve a doctor to do more than 20 hours a week."
Overtime, concluded Biyela, is not a condition of service or an entitlement. "But an instrument to compensate for shortages where a need arises. The department will not back track on strengthening healthcare management including demanding value for public money and tightening internal controls for effective management of all its employees."
