The DA in Gauteng supports the call by the South African Medical Association Trade Union (SAMATU) for the Gauteng Health Department to reconsider a proposed cut in doctors’ overtime.
A reduction in overtime will be disastrous as hospitals are already severely understaffed, and fewer doctors will be available for afterhours and emergencies.
Another consideration is that the lives of patients will be endangered if junior doctors are not properly supervised after hours.
It is also unfair to unilaterally change the contracts of doctors who rely on overtime to pay their bills.
According to one doctor I have spoken to, her take-home pay will be cut by one-third if she is not allowed to work her full 60 hours a month overtime.
The problem is that the Department is squeezed at the start of the new financial year this month because it must pay more than R5 billion arrears from the previous year’s budget.
Staff and patients should not be victims of the Gauteng Health Department’s chronic mismanagement which leads to cruel service cuts in hospitals, including a freeze on staff and new equipment.
The DA will persist in our campaign for new leadership to provide quality care in our hospitals.