Gauteng's public health system is losing at least 100 nurses a month, a haemorrhage that officials warn could undermine the rollout of National Health Insurance (NHI). The province, which has the country's highest overall health spending and the most hospital beds, told the provincial legislature it needs at least R5.7bn to fill thousands of vacancies.
The Gauteng nurse shortage now runs to a "conservative" deficit of at least 16,000 posts, the health department says. To cope, it is turning to private nursing agencies for staffing over the next three years.