RECENTLY, the board of Gelvan Park Frail Aged Home took the tough decision to spend the last bit of money in the non-profit organisation’s bank account to pay staff half of their salaries.
According to the chairperson, Gishma Johnson, this decision was made to ensure that staff are able to come to work to render the critical service to 100 frail older persons, which means that there are no funds to purchase food supplies.
Johnson describes the last two months as a nerve-racking experience, while waiting for the Department of Social Development to disburse the first tranche of the subsidy, in accordance with the service level agreement between the department and the institution.
“Our staff deserves full salaries, but under the circumstances, we could only afford to pay half. We accommodate 100 frail residents from disadvantaged communities, so there is no financial support from family members.
“In addition, the needs of frail older persons require extra resources such as disposable nappies, medical equipment and dedicated caregiving staff,” Johnson explained.
She said that the actual cost per resident is about R6 500 to R7 000 per month; however, the government subsidises each resident with only R2 000 per person per month and does not include the payment of salaries.
The extra income is derived from the residents’ monthly government pension, which is R1 900.
“We are constantly under pressure to retain the services of professional nursing staff as we cannot offer market related salaries. Our general assistants and care workers are also poorly paid,” she added.
In the interim, the institution is urgently seeking support from the community and businesses to assist with food supplies, nappies, cleaning agents and toiletries. “With more than 70% of our residents on nappies, our monthly nappy bill is R55 000, the third highest cost next to salaries and groceries.
The NPO can be contacted on 041 452 2111 to obtain a needs list or banking details.
– ISSUED BY GELVANDALE PARK FRAIL AGED HOME
