TimesLive reports that nurses face endless delays in being sent their practising certificates after paying their yearly fees and end up having to travel long distances to get the certificates in order to keep their jobs.  

They say the way they are treated by the SA Nursing Council shows that the government does not respect them.  The professional payment system is not yet online and the 220,000 nurses and 73,000 nursing assistants are expected to pay the fee through FNB and fax the proof of payment to the council's office.  The certificate is then posted, but many say it never arrives.  Nurses who do not receive their licence have to travel to Pretoria - the only nursing council office in the country - to get it.  At the council’s offices last week, hundreds of nurses queued for their certificates.  The Times made several calls to the council and the phone rang unanswered.

• Read this report by Katharine Child in full at TimesLive

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