News24 reports that the disciplinary measures against three doctors, accused of stealing two broken chairs from Tygerberg Hospital, is set to undergo a review.  

The doctors, studying anesthesiology at the hospital, reportedly removed the broken chairs to have the furniture refurbished for use in the staff room.  According to the doctors, verbal permission had been given for them to remove the chairs from the hospital property.  Following a disciplinary process, one doctor was dismissed, another suspended and the third sanctioned with unpaid leave for a month and a final written warning.  On Friday, a verbal commitment was given by Health MEC Nomafrech Mbombo that there would be a review of the disciplinary process.  MPP Wendy Philander indicated that the chairs had since been returned to the hospital and called the disciplinary action “unfair”.  She noted that the consequences for the doctors would have troubling effects on their careers as well as the service load at Tygerberg Hospital.  In the meantime, a petition against the sanctions has garnered over 13,500 signatures.  The petition states the doctors have been “victimised and treated unjustly” and calls for their immediate reinstatement.  The SA Society of Anaesthesiologists has also spoken out against the sanctions, saying the healthcare system could ill afford the loss of three doctors.

• Read the full original of the above report by Nicole McCain at News24

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