SA Reacts to Surgeon & Volunteers Resigning at Helen Josephs Due to Toxic Work Culture: “This Is So Upsetting”

• The Helen Joseph Hospital loses a celebrated top cancer surgeon because of unsavoury working conditions
• Volunteers stood with the doctor and decided to stop working for the foundation at the public facility
• South Africans online praised Professor Carol-Ann Benn for making a difference for 17 years and saving women's lives

JOHANNESBURG - Professor Carol-Ann Benn, an acclaimed cancer specialist and surgeon, resigned from the Helen Joseph Hospital. The aftermath of her departure raised alarms that the public sector is losing experts in Gauteng.

Those in know claimed that the working environment and culture at the hospital were not conducive and had patriarchal systems and people grabbing for power. It was also said that the hospital struggled to keep the staff and provide quality care for patients due to operational limitations.

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According to News 24, Benn was a founding director of a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) foundation at the Helen Joseph Hospital and ended her 17 -year tenure at the health facility at the end of September. Volunteers at the foundation quit in solidarity with her decision to leave.

"Leaving Helen Joseph after 17 years has been a struggle. There was harassment and an obstructive workplace culture that made our daily working lives impossible, but I can't spend my time getting into trouble for trying to find solutions. And if my patients have to face so much to survive, then I can survive this too."

The Gauteng Department of Health spokesperson, Kgomotso Mophulane, gave a comment about the hospital losing a stellar doctor like Benn.

"The Clinic is not closed at Helen Joseph Hospital. It is only one employee who has resigned but the clinic continues to have other specialists who run the clinic."

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South Africans online shared their opinions on the conditions and services at public hospitals in Gauteng, and some shares added raving reviews for Professor Benn.

Read their comments below.

@protect_my_job shared:

"This is so upsetting. I was once a student under Dr Carol Benn. She is amazing and so enthusiastic and great at her job. Helen Joseph's clinic was great because of her. It’s a shame to see government hospitals fall further into despair."

@WINSTON74502263 posted:

"I know seven doctors working in Ireland. Not 1 wanted to emigrate. But they were not offered posts in SA. They were happy to work in rural hospitals. Cyril Ramaphosa at some point, your ANC cadre deployment will fail."

@Sunflow24522496 mentioned:

"Thousands of women were saved by her at this hospital. Where do they go now? So much for a rotten government that pretends to care for women!"

@Sunflow24522496 added:

"This incredible surgeon saved my life under these conditions! Winter with no pillows, no blankets, dirty sheets, dry bread for lunch and dinner, Panados after a major operation for pain, huge old blood drains, and no plasters."

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@samvusimasango

"I am not surprised government departments are hell for those who are committed and willing to do their job well because many employees are happy to be glued to their phones rather than assist anyone."

Health department unveils newly upgraded hospitals in Eastern Cape and Gauteng

Briefly News previously reported that the Eastern Cape Health Department revealed the new and improved child and adolescent facility at Fort England Hospital in Makhanda on Thursday, 13 October.

The facility, which caters to patients between the ages of 13 and 17, received a R29 million upgrade as part of World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Awareness Month.

Source: Briefly News