The Public Servants Association (PSA) expressed concern on Tuesday at the escalating financial crisis facing the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health, calling on National Treasury to act immediately to provide the Provincial Department of Health with stabilising resources.

The PSA wants the National Department to prioritise funding to cover the wage agreement deficit, fill critical healthcare vacancies, and stabilise service delivery.

The PSA said it was extremely concerned about the Department’s proposed cost-cutting measures, which it said risked exacerbating the crisis, pointing out that freezing the employment of healthcare workers and curtailing essential services were not sustainable solutions.

These actions would further strain the system, endangering healthcare workers and patients, it noted.

The association highlighted that KZN Premier Thami Ntuli’s warning of a projected R4.7-billion overspend by September 30, exposed a public health system at breaking point.

“This crisis, rooted in systemic neglect, chronic underfunding, and unfunded national wage agreements, has pushed the Department into a perilous position where healthcare delivery, workforce stability, and patient outcomes are critically endangered, “ it said.

The PSA attributed the crisis to several interrelated factors, including government’s failure to support wage agreements with corresponding financial allocations.

The 2024 wage agreement, which added a R1.9-billion liability to the province’s budget, exemplified this disconnect, the PSA added.

It said that instead of receiving dedicated funding to meet obligations, the provincial government was forced to divert money from critical service delivery.

“This pressure compounds a R3.362-billion shortfall in the compensation of employees budget, driven by a longstanding failure to fund vacant healthcare posts,” noted the PSA.

The association pointed to historical budget reductions, which it said further exacerbated the crisis.

“The ripple effects are catastrophic with mounting surgical and clinical backlogs, longer waiting times for treatment, inadequate ambulance services, shortages of critical medications, and healthcare facilities in various states of disrepair. This decline disproportionately affects rural and underserved communities, widening healthcare inequities and deepening public frustration,” it said.

The PSA also urged the Department of Health to develop and implement a strategic recovery plan that includes recruitment drives that address the chronic understaffing in hospitals and clinics by fast-tracking the employment of healthcare professionals, especially in rural and underserved areas.

The Department must ensure enhanced financial oversight by establishing robust systems to monitor and manage departmental spending, ensuring accountability and preventing wasteful expenditure, it highlighted.

The association also wants unions, healthcare workers, and civil society to be engaged in “transparent” consultations to craft sustainable solutions that address worker welfare and patient care.

The PSA emphasised that this crisis was a national emergency requiring immediate and decisive action, highlighting that failure to act would compromise the constitutional right to quality healthcare and further erode public trust in government institutions.