Correspondent
Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul said holding onto qualified personnel such as the candidates from the Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College was a big challenge for the province, he told an audience of friends and relatives of nursing graduates in Kimberley on Thursday.
Saul was giving the keynote address at the annual graduation ceremony on Thursday of 64 nurses from the Henrietta Stockdale Nursing College in Kimberley.
The Premier commented that he had been assured that all the graduates had been placed at several medical institutions around the province. This was important as their placement in critical posts had been made a priority of the Northern Cape Government.
Saul said the Henrietta Stockdale College had over the years produced qualified personnel of a world class standard who were envied and highly regarded internationally since the college’s inception in 1980.
To date the college has produced 328 trained general nurses since 2017. Of those who were graduating on Thursday 30 have been recruited with the view of persuading them to pursue advanced diplomas in one of other nursing disciplines. This cohort of 30 will start their advanced diploma training in January 2024.
More nursing staff will be recruited to pursue a Higher Certificate in Auxiliary Nursing which will follow shortly. The aim was to have some personnel do the Advanced Diploma in Midwifery with the plan being for them to start in two years, he said.
The Premier expressed that he was concerned at the exceedingly high attrition rate of graduates who migrate out of the province once they have qualified.
“We need to institute measures to arrest that outward migration of these professionals”.
Saul said in total the Henrietta Stockdale College has to date produced a total 2 537 qualified nurses as well as 486 Doctors, 695 Emergency medical personnel and 2125 support staff members. The province currently has a nursing staff vacancy total of 545.
The premier said all that was needed for a well-functioning health unit was a qualified nurse who would do a lot of good and make a big difference in the life of a community.
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