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Doctors, Nurses Plan Demos Over Collapsing Health System |
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Tuesday, 18 November 2008 15:48 |
IN an unprecedented move, doctors and nurses will this week take to the streets in protest against the deteriorating state of the country’s health delivery system.
The planned demonstrations were resolved at a meeting of health professionals and support staff from Harare, Parirenyatwa and Chitungwiza hospitals on Friday. The health professionals said the demonstrations planned for Tuesday were meant to show their outrage at the apparent lack of political will by the government to resolve the health crisis.
Operations at the country’s three biggest referral hospitals have been grounded for sometime after nurses and doctors stopped reporting for work because they cannot afford bus fare.
The health workers say it is futile for them to report for work to just “come and watch patients die” because there were no drugs, medicines and essential life-saving medical equipment.
The president of the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association (ZHDA), Dr Amon Sivereki who addressed the meeting said government’s response to the closure of the hospitals as a result of the job boycotts was very disappointing.
“We are driven by the need to see things work in this country and the decision to march in the streets to make our grievances known was unanimous at our meeting,” Sivereki said.
“We are very disappointed that government has ignored the crisis at these hospitals and even denied that these hospitals are closed while many people continue to die at home because they cannot afford alternative medical care in the private health sector.”
Nurses and doctors the world over rarely protest in public because of ethical reasons and Tuesday’s demonstrations are likely to embarrass the government.
There were reports that even before the protests got underway the government had resorted to arm-twisting methods to forestall the job action.
Following another meeting at Parirenyatwa hospital on Thursday some nurses were reportedly threatened with eviction from their hospital residences if they failed to report for duty or took part in the protest march.
“The time for being afraid and threatening each other is over. It’s all systems out,” said Sivereki adding that his association is prepared for “whatever comes”.
The Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, has tried to deny that the three hospitals have closed down. He said the health sector had not been spared the challenges facing the country but said the institutions were fully functional.
Harare Hospital workers’ representative, Dr Simbarashe Ndoda who also addressed the Friday meeting, called on concerned Zimbabweans to join the march next week.
“This march is not about nurses, doctors and their support staff who want better remuneration. It’s for everyone who wants to see issues at government hospitals addressed,” Ndoda said. “This is why we are calling on every concerned Zimbabwean to join us in this March.
“You might think this is not your problem but the day you fall sick or are involved in an accident and you are told the hospital is closed it will be the day you will realise that making things work at government hospitals is your business.
“Private health care is now very expensive. You are looking at not less than US$1 000 and how many people have that?”
The few senior nurses who have been holding fort since the boycott at the Harare hospitals have been turning away patients and advising members of the public that the institutions were closed.
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