Good Shepherd Catholic Hospital and College of Health Sciences has confirmed that it is losing health professionals to government hospitals.
The institution has blamed the departures on salary disparities following government’s recent salary review.
They lost staff members in the past few months and expected more professionals to leave as government offered higher salaries.
“Currently government pays more than us following the salary review exercise,” a Good Shepherd representative said.
The admission came during an engagement between the ministry of health, senators, the board and executive management of Good Shepherd Catholic Hospital and College of Health Sciences at Esibayeni Lodge last Thursday.
A parliamentary representative had questioned how government could structure budget allocations or subventions to help the institution bridge its operational shortfalls while ensuring its long-term financial sustainability.
The representative also raised concerns about the retention of Good Shepherd-trained nurses, noting that graduates were in high demand in countries such as the United Kingdom and Canada. The representative said the international demand was a positive reflection of the quality of training offered by Good Shepherd, but warned that it could contribute to brain drain.
Good Shepherd said it had introduced several measures to encourage employees to remain with the institution, including wellness programmes covering mental and physical health.
The institution further said it provided financial assistance to employees and had, in recent years, extended this support to their children’s school fees by advancing payments directly to schools.
However, it acknowledged that these incentives had not been enough to overcome the salary gap.
“Unfortunately, the reality is that everyone goes to work for money,” the representative said.
Good Shepherd said the situation had become particularly difficult since government implemented its salary review.
“So, in the past couple of months after government implemented their own salary review, we have already lost staff members and we are expecting more to leave,” the institution said.
It warned that the departures were likely to continue until the ongoing salary review for public entities was concluded and its own salary scales were adjusted.
“Until such time the salary review of public entities currently ongoing is finalised and we see a move in terms of our payscales, we will still lose a lot of staff to government and the private sector,” the representative said.
The staffing challenge comes against the backdrop of financial pressures at Good Shepherd’s College of Health Sciences.
The institution explained that the college and hospital were treated separately in terms of revenue, assets and expenses through its financial management system. On tuition fees, Good Shepherd said these currently contributed 25% of the college’s total budget.
“We still need support in terms of the subvention from government for us to be able to break even,” the representative said.
The institution therefore indicated that continued government support would be important in addressing the college’s operational funding gap.
