Ec—”ity conce”ns as n—”ses’ ca”s stolen

MBABANE – SWADNU has raised concerns over nurses’ security following the theft of two cars, one from a health institution and the other from a nurse’s home.

One was stolen at the Mbabane Government Hospital Nurses Home and the other was stolen two weeks ago at Nsalitje Clinic.

According to Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) Secretary General Mayibongwe Masangane, the issue of the loss of property of some nurses was a cause for concern. He said as a result, the union had tried to address the issue with the Ministry of Health, through a formal meeting and were told that the ministry was working on it. He said the ministry said they would give them a response.

Masangane said they hoped that the ministry would respond to the issue soon, as the theft of the property was a setback to the nurses and also meant that the (nurses) were not safe.

“This is a big problem which we have been asking government to intervene in as it is clear that the ministry needs to make means to tighten the security in the different health facilities. These people lost their cars on government property which should have been a secure place for them. It is disheartening that with the kind of economy we are in, replacing these cars will be hard for these nurses and they will not even get any compensation from the ministry. We are not safe in our workplace and government has not done anything about it,” he said.

Crimes

Worth noting is that this publication had previously written articles where the lack of security in the different health facilities resulted in various crimes being committed.

Among other instances was an article of a healthcare worker at Zombodze Clinic, who was raped by two men. Another case happened at Mbabane Government Hospital, where a gang came armed to the hospital holding healthcare workers hostage forcing them to revive one of their own who had died after being stabbed.

Due to the incident, the Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi held a press conference where she stated that as a ministry, they always strived to ensure the safety of healthcare workers within available resources.

“However, we are also aware that our efforts are not sufficient. Health facilities, by their nature, are scattered all over the country and it is impossible to provide security in all of them,” Nkosi said.

She said as a ministry, they also relied on community members to look after all service providers who lived within their communities. In this particular case, she urged the community to help the ministry identify the perpetrators so that the law could take its course.

Commitment

She said her ministry assured all healthcare workers that the ministry valued their service and commitment. She said while the ministry continued to work around the clock to enhance security in healthcare facilities, they requested all healthcare workers to come together, hold hands and look after one another.

In an interview with this publication, Ministry of Health Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula stated that it was wrong to say that the ministry was not taking the issues of security seriously as they were.

“It is a wrong presentation to say the ministry is not taking the matter of security seriously in our facilities. The matter is being address together with the national security at the moment. Some of the decisions being taken have to undergo a process so as to ensure that there is success in a sustainable manner,” he said.