Patients, staff in health limbo

DELAYS: FILES GATHER DUST AS HOSPITAL WAITS FOR A CEO

- Jarryd Westerdale

The functioning of a hospital in Pretoria is being hindered as staff wait for the Gauteng department of health to appoint a new CEO.

The department says plans are in place to ensure the smooth running of the facility, but sources claim they are left in limbo with no clear communication about the way forward.

The CEO of the University of Pretoria Oral and Dental Hospital left at the end of last month, after reportedly saying several months earlier that she would not renew her contract.

While affiliated with the university for training and research, the facility is managed by the department of health.

The CEO position has been vacant for less than a month but, in that time, staff have experienced a deterioration in working conditions.

Sources close to the hospital spoke to The Citizen on condition of anonymity.

They said obtaining information for themselves and patients has been a key source of frustration for staff.