Calls for nurses' mental health and wellness to be taken seriously

SowetanLIVE

4 days ago

Healthcare leaders have called for urgent systemic action to prioritise nurses' wellness, warning that the health of the country's largest workforce is being overlooked to the detriment of patient outcomes.
Speaking at the 5th African Nursing Conference in Boksburg, Brig-Gen Azwihangwisi Makumbane, from the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) said burnout, fatigue and lack of support have become silent threats within hospitals, clinics and military facilities.
Makumbane has called on the government to urgently establish wellness clinics in all healthcare facilities, warning that without support systems for healthcare workers, their performance is compromised.
'We are supposed to have wellness clinics in every hospital by now. Healthcare professions are being taken as supermen and superwomen while they are also human beings and need the same support system,' Makumbane said.
Makumbane said nurses, doctors, kitchen staff and security personnel all face extreme stress in the healthcare environment, yet there are few safe spaces for them to seek help.
'In the military, we have established a wellness clinic at 1 Military Hospital in Gauteng. It serves all our staff, not just nurses, but everyone from cleaners to clinicians. That model must be replicated across the country,' she said.
She emphasised the importance of occupational health and safety units being properly staffed by trained medical professionals who can assess, refer and support staff with psychological or physical challenges.
'When nurses are emotionally exhausted, they lose compassion not because they do not care, but because they are drowning silently. Mental health is part of wellness, she said.
TimesLIVE