Cape Town - HEALTH Minister Zweli Mkhize wants the provincial departments to prioritise the filling of vacant posts of chief executive officers (CEOs) at hospitals across the country.
Mkhize revealed this when he was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Haseena Ismail.
Ismail enquired about the percentage of vacant posts in state hospitals in each province and the number of chief executive officers that are still in an acting capacity.
In his written response, Mkhize said there were 13% vacant posts in the public hospitals across the country as of February.
His response showed that Free State has the highest vacancy rate at public hospitals at 21%, followed by Western Cape at 15% and KwaZulu-Natal and North West at 14% each.
The vacancy rate in the Eastern Cape stood at 13%, Mpumalanga at 12% and Limpopo at 7%.
Mkhize also said there were 13% vacant posts in public hospitals.
He also said there were 64 acting CEO in public hospitals.
“The national Department of Health acknowledges the reported number of acting Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) as high.
“As a result, the Director-General has written letters to the provincial heads of Health Departments to prioritise the appointment of experienced eligible candidates permanently to the positions of CEOs at their earliest convenience to ensure stability and service delivery continuity in the affected Hospitals,” Mkhize said in his written response.
Political Bureau