The figure was confirmed by the department in a written reply to questions in the provincial legislature on Monday.
Eyewitness News reported on Tuesday about how staff at the Helen Joseph Hospital are pleading with government to make more funding available to employ more nurses to deal with the influx of patients there.
With experts sounding the alarm on a possible second spike in coronavirus transmissions, public hospitals are confident they’ll be better prepared.
South Africa faces a runaway epidemic that has overwhelmed public hospitals in a country where roughly half the population lives below the poverty line, according to the latest government figures from 2015.
Parliament’s Health Portfolio Committee chair Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo received the report of the health market inquiry into the private sector which was released on Monday.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says his hands are tied, when it comes to fixing the financial, technical and staffing problems experienced at state hospitals.
The Health Dept has admitted that attracting nurses into the profession has been a challenge.
Theuns Botha says it's intolerable that 80,000 patients have to wait long hours in hospitals every day.
