The Ministry of Health and Social Services recently announced a reduction in overtime compensation for nurses and midwives in the public sector, citing budgetary constraints.
While the government faces financial challenges, it is crucial to recognise that the ministry’s decision may exacerbate the existing shortage of nurses in the country and jeopardise the struggling public healthcare system.
Over the past few years, Namibia’s public healthcare system has faced significant workforce challenges, notably with the closure of the public National Health Training Centres (NHTCs) for nurses and other healthcare providers.
This has led to a decline in nurses entering the healthcare system as private training schools are often unaffordable for the majority.
Consequently, the country is grappling with a chronic shortage of nurses and midwives, which severely impacts patient care.
COMPOUNDING THE PROBLEM
Currently, about 82% of the Namibian population relies on public healthcare facilities, and the patient-to-nurse/midwife ratio reported by the World Bank in 2018 was only two nurses/midwives per 1 000 patients, a decline from 2,9 in 2007/8, despite a growing population.
Preventable tragedies resulting in the loss of lives have been reported in public healthcare facilities, with some of these incidents attributable to the shortage of nurses and other healthcare providers.
The Covid-19 pandemic further exposed burnout among nurses in Namibian public healthcare facilities, highlighting the system’s inadequate capacity to address population health needs.
Cutting overtime claims for nurses will only compound the challenges the public healthcare system faces.
Public health budgeting in Namibia has been marred by poor accountability, prompting a thorough reconsideration of priorities.
Failure to invest in nursing staff will only further strain an already floundering system.
Reducing compensated overtime demonstrates that public policymakers are oblivious to the dire situation in public healthcare facilities and the failure to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of nurses and midwives.
Investing in workforce morale and providing incentives for young nurses and midwives to work in public services is crucial.
Making working conditions more harsh will discourage potential healthcare professionals from joining the public sector.
IT’S TIME TO REASSESS
The ministry of health needs to reassess its priorities and focus on strengthening the healthcare system’s capacity by providing more substantial support to nurses and midwives.
The significant cut in compensated overtime hours, from 40 to 18 hours a month, will have severe public health ramifications that will inevitably affect patient health outcomes.
Advising nurses to take leave as alternative compensation for overtime will aggravate staff shortages and burden those nurses who remain on duty. Subjecting nurses to an intentionally short-staffed working setting constitutes exploitative public service labour practices.
It is imperative to restructure funding priorities within the health ministry to give precedence to overtime compensation for nurses and midwives.
The decision to cut overtime compensation for nurses in Namibia’s public healthcare system is a short-sighted and counterproductive measure.
It is imperative that the government prioritises compensating nurses fairly for their essential work and that it allocates additional funds to bolster the healthcare workforce.
- Hilma Nambili Nakambale is a public policy researcher. The views expressed in this article are her own.
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