Doctors strike haunting the dead
THE dead have not been spared from the job action by doctors as processing of burial orders necessary to lay them to rest, especially in cases where a post-mortem has to be conducted, has become increasingly difficult.
The job action has been ongoing for the past 84 days and grieving families are having to wait for days on end to bury their loved ones.
The Savanhu family from Gwatidze Village in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East, which lost three minors recently after being struck by a lightning bolt, had to contend with the strike-induced delays.
They were only assisted after pleadings by a third party.
The three minors — Keith, Challenge and Abraham Savanhu — died on Wednesday and were buried on Friday.
Mr Alois Savanhu, grandfather to the deceased minors, said: “There was also an issue of backlog for post-mortems since doctors have been on strike.
“We had to join the queue . . . I felt bad for the families that had to endure another day to take their relatives home.”
A tour by The Sunday Mail at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals — the country’s major referral health institution — also revealed muted activity as only a handful of patients desperately sought assistance.
Some patients said they had been waiting for a long time to get assistance although they had been promised by hospital staff that they will be attended to.
Most corridors in the imposing structure were largely abandoned.
The hospital’s public relations officer, Mr Linos Dhire, confirmed that pathology services have been affected by the current job action.
“Since the declaration of incapacitation by the junior and senior doctors, services in the hospital have been compromised. This includes the provision of pathology services,” he said.
“However, the hospital has put measures in place, like in the rest of the clinical areas, to ensure that post-mortems continue to be done.
“While experiencing some challenges, the pathology team has maintained the functionality of our mortuary in post-mortem provision.”
It is the same situation at Harare Central Hospital.
“Right now, what I can say is we are still having problems of limited doctors, but we are working with what we have,” said Mrs Juliet Chikurunhe, the institution’s public relations manager.
Public hospitals are operating with skeletal staff following the dismissal of 435 doctors for disregarding a Labour Court ruling directing them to return to their workstations while negotiations on their salaries and conditions of service continued.
Health Services Board (HSB) chairperson Dr Paulinus Sikhosana told The Sunday Mail that 55 doctors will be hauled before hearings this week.
And the disciplinary hearings continue this week. HSB says the fired doctors can however re-apply.
Negotiations between Government and doctors are currently underway.
Last week, the doctors said they would release a joint statement together with Government at the appropriate time.
The job action also by Harare City Council (HCC) nurses, who have not been turning up for duty in the past 21 days, has made the situation worse.
Last week, only 70 out of 138 nurses at the City of Harare’s six clinics that are functional reported for duty.
HCC chair on human resources and general purposes committee chairperson Councillor Jacob Mafume announced that the local authority had struck a deal with workers unions that will see the least-paid worker getting $1 108.
It will also give council workers 3 474 stands in Tafara, Mabvuku and Eyestone, among other benefits, to cover salary arrears from 2016. Harare Municipal Workers’ Union (HMWU), Water Allied Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (WAWUZ), Zimbabwe Allied Municipal Workers Union (ZAMWU) and Zimbabwe Urban Councils Workers Union (ZUCWU) accepted the offer.
But nurses who belong to the newly formed Zimbabwe Urban and Rural Council Nurses Workers’ Union (ZURCNWU) insist that these adjustments do not address their grievances.
HCC acting human capital director Major Matthew Marara (Retired) said the city does not officially recognise the nurses’ union.
“Negotiations are done in terms of the law. That union, we do not even know; they have not given us a list of their membership as should be done according to law. If they want to be recognised, they should follow proper channels.
“We negotiated with workers’ unions that are registered with the National Employment Council and they have nurses as part of their membership — that is our position,” he said.
Previously, nurses fell under Harare Municipal Workers’ Union (HMWU), but decided to break away as they believed the main union was colluding to fix their salaries with the employer. HMWU president Mr Cosmas Bungu, who is also the serving chairperson of the NEC for municipal workers, however, denied the allegations.
“Those are just unfounded allegations. At NEC we have not received anything from them.
“They have just registered with the Ministry (of Health and Child Care) and have not come to us, so we cannot intervene in that,” he said.