Health
Question by:
Hon Brett Herron
Answered by:
Hon Nomafrench Mbombo
Question Number:
9
Question Body:
- (a) Why were three doctors at the Tygerberg Hospital given “final written warnings” for trying to repair broken chairs that could be repurposed for use in a staff tea room, (b) what was the cost of the procurement of the consultant, whose name has been furnished to her Department for the purpose of her reply, and the eight-month-long disciplinary enquiry, (c) what was the cost or number of hours of professional time that these three doctors and any provincial staff lost during the enquiries related to this disciplinary hearing, (d) what actions have been taken against the senior managers who took disciplinary action against the doctors to begin with and (e) what actions have been taken to recover these costs;
- whether the consultant, whose name has been furnished to his Department for the purpose of his reply, has been blacklisted from further work with the Province?
Answer Body:
- The dispute concerning this matter was referred to and dealt with by the Public Health and Social Development Bargaining Council which is an independent dispute resolution structure outside the Department of Health. Due to the confidentiality of such matters the department is not in a position to engage publicly on the merits of this matter or other details. It is the responsibility of the Department to investigate all allegations, irrespective of the status or position of the staff members or the monetary value of the alleged misconduct.
- While the question is not clear as to who the consultant is (the Labour representative or the doctors, also referred to as consultants) we are unable to respond to the question in this format.
- This information is not recorded in the requested format and is difficult to estimate the number of actual hours spent in hearings.
- The handling of discipline is part of Manager’s/Supervisor’s job description. There was and is no need to take action against any Manager as due process was followed and the matter was referred to and handled by Head Office until finalisation.
- (e) There are no costs to be recovered for staff involved in the disciplinary processes. The doctors were fully remunerated.
2. While the question is unclear as to who it refers to, no one has been blacklisted from further work with the Department.
Date:
Friday, February 14, 2020
