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City Press reports that the Gauteng Department of Health (DOH) is considering drastic action against doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who have failed to disclose their financial interests in terms of the department's policies meant to guard against conflicts of interest.
According to DOH spokesperson Motaletale Modiba, out of the 14,116 health officials in the department meant to file disclosures, only 5,380 (38.11%) have adhered to the call by the Public Service Commissioner. This means that 8,736 or nearly two-thirds of employees have not complied. The department is now threatening to issue suspensions to some of these healthcare workers and officials, after subjecting them to disciplinary hearings. Disclosures of financial interests are mandated in terms of chapter 2(2) of the Public Service Act Regulations of 2016. For doctors and nurses, the disclosures are supposedly meant to prevent healthcare staff from moonlighting in the private sector or holding other jobs besides their government employment without proper permission. Modiba indicated that continuous non-compliance was a serious challenge and, although CEOs of hospitals were annually instructed by the HOD to take disciplinary steps, only a few CEOs complied by issuing written warnings. During the 2021/22 financial year, only 12 CEOs adhered to this instruction. But according to sources, one West Rand hospital might be completely crippled by the department's threatened suspensions, since entire departments failed to disclose their interests.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Noxolo Majavu at City Press (subscriber access only)
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