UNITED Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) nurses downed tools
yesterday citing lack of stationery, needles and drugs, among other medical
basics at the health institution.
The Zimbabwe Nurses’ Association (Zina) members vowed to
continue with their work stoppage until UBH authorities addressed the sad state
of affairs, which was putting patients’ lives at risk and making their work
difficult.
The strike action follows a similar job boycott by
Chitungizwa Central Hospital staff last week over the shortage of resources.
The UBH nurses accused management of not prioritising the
provision of medical necessities at the institution, claiming there was rampant
corruption and maladministration.
“We need resources to make sure our patients receive the
quality service they deserve, otherwise we are not going back to work. There is
virtually nothing in the wards and we are tired of improvising everything as we
try to provide health care services,” UBH Zina chairperson Anthony Majongosi
said.
“We cannot continue improvising everything while the
hospital is supposed to buy resources with revenue collected from patients. We
feel that the money paid by patients could be used to make sure the patients
get quality service.”
The protesting nurses, carrying banners calling for the
improvement of health care services, also forced the closure of a private
pharmacy at the institution.
The nurses alleged UBH management was deliberately not
buying drugs for the institution to force patients to buy from the private
pharmacy said to be owned by some board members.
Zina on Monday wrote to UBH chief executive officer
Nonhlanhla Ndlovu notifying her of their indefinite strike action.
“There is no stationery, no gloves, no needles, no syringes
and the drugs in our hospital pharmacy, but people can buy them at a private
pharmacy at our hospital. Our patients are buying everything despite paying
hospital bills; they buy sundries for theatre despite paying theatre fees. We
have emergencies like ruptured uterus, but we have to ask relatives to go and
buy sundries, risking the patient’s life,” the letter, signed by Majongosi,
read.
“As nurses, we are concerned about our patients, therefore,
we have passed resolutions that we will be withdrawing our services as from December
12 until the hospital provides us with resources to use. The private pharmacy
at the hospital must be closed as it seems our hospital pharmacy is no longer
ordering enough drugs to give the private pharmacy more customers.”
Contacted for comment, Ndlovu said: “We had a meeting with
the nurses on the issues they have raised. We made them aware of the challenges
we face as UBH, challenges we all know are related to the economy, but we have
resolved the issue, agreed on the way forward and they are now back at work.”
The country’s health delivery sector is experiencing a
myriad of challenges such as shortages of drugs after years of underfunding
from Treasury.
Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa last week allocated $408
million to the health sector in his 2018 National Budget despite Health
minister David Parirenyatwa’s demands for over $1 billion. Newsday
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