Late payment of salaries hurting ENHI – CEO
MANZINI – “The failure to pay salaries on due date creates serious industrial relations tensions and bad publicity for Eswatini Nazarene Health Institutions (ENHI),” says Mazwi Mavuso.
The ENHI CEO said this yesterday during a tour of the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital by some legislators and the Ministry of Health officials.
Mavuso said ENHI was faced with serious financial challenges, which required major internal and external collaborative effort, commitment and resolve. He said a key component of the institution’s new strategy for 2024/29 was to consolidate the gains of the save-out institution initiative (SOII) and pursue the principal goal of financial parity by 2029.
He said they also wanted to secure critical operations, services and supplies, public, and private partnerships (PPPs) and other proven strategic arrangements would be prioritised.
Mavuso said they wanted to create a more reliable stream for the re-launch of the private ward and expansion of the sources of funding are major priority targets. He said: “A major systems upgrade will be undertaken to improve operational efficiencies, support cost improvement and common line of sight. Publicity and communication improvements will also focus on corporate image and publicity.”
Mavuso said: “The institution will continuously refine the system of employee engagement, involvement and wellness to secure buy-in and minimise avoidable harm and the threat of insecurity.”
He said the irregular payment of the subvention remains a major complication for the institution. The amount received, Mavuso said, was often much lower than the allocated monthly subvention.
The CEO said management would strengthen arrangements with government aimed at creating a level of stability and certainty with regard to the release of funds allocated for the monthly subvention.
Dialysis
Mavuso said the institution had eight operational dialysis machines. Though usable, he said these were not optimal, for instance, there was a lack of filters and adjuncts. He said ENHI has 41 patients on dialysis, who comprise 17 females and 24 males. Mavuso said patients were on dialysis six days per week (Monday – Saturday) on three cycles per day.
He said: “There was a serious shortage of supplies in April, leading to the unavoidable closure of the facility. Fortunately, no one was lost (died) as a result. All our patients are back.”
The CEO said the Minister of Health, Mduduzi Matsebula’s intervention secured them the much-needed supplies. However, he projected that the stock received was likely to run out by mid-July 2024.
Mavuso said the PPP model used by Mbabane Government Hospital was an effective way of keeping the renal unit functional at all times. He said ENHI would pursue the set-up of the same structure. “The RFM and the 20 clinics under the ENHI receive drugs and medical supplies from CMS and the inventory is managed through an electronic system (PS Manager),” he said.
Mavuso said the CMS’ order-fill rate ranged between about 20 per cent - 25 per cent, which meant ENHI operated with a shortfall of 75 – 80 per cent of required stock (average).
Shortage
He said those affected most by the drugs and medical supplies shortage were the very sick (in) patients and chronic care patients (NCDs). The CEO said when funds were available; ENHI bought the essential drugs and or supplies from the market to alleviate the plight of these patients.
He also highlighted the RFM Hospital was one of the country’s regional referrals and it attends to about 35 000 people, which was equivalent to 30 per cent of the national population.
Mavuso said they have a staff complement of 591, which includes 30 general practitioners, 10 specialists, 56 allied and 242 nurses, together with 252 support staff.
Meanwhile, he said that the 20 Nazarene Community Health Clinics, attend to 238 000 people across the country and have a staff complement of 123 – a matron, three supervisors, eight sisters, 75 nurses and 36 support staff.