According to Denosa's acting General Secretary, Cassiem Lekhoathi, this will undoubtedly affect already overstretched and strained South African nurses. He adds that such a decision is detrimental to provinces bordering Lesotho, of which The Free State is one.

Lekhoathi said: "What is more disappointing is that the dismissal of these highest qualified nurses in Lesotho is over a mere complaint about the salary discrepancies that is applied at the institution; nurses with the same skill set and numbers of years' experience, doing the same work, are earning different salaries."

Furthermore, the Department of Health spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi tells OFM News that the laying off of these nurses will definitely affect the caseload of the Free State Health Services.

"Contingency plans will be worked out as an outcome of the cross border teams engagement," says Mvambi.

Lekhoathi adds that Netcare should intervene and reverse the decision, considering the world-ravaging Covid-19 pandemic.  

He goes on to say that only 5% of nurses are working at the hospital, thus leaving the casualty, ICU and Neonatal ICU wards without nurses. Lekhoathi says this will negatively impact an already burdened South African Healthcare system.

Mvambi says the Thabo Mofutsanyana District's Maseru Cross border Surveillance Response Team is engaging with their Lesotho counterparts to avert any possible negative impact on the Free State.

OFM News/Lee Simmons