Mpilo doctors go on strike
DOCTORS at some hospitals including Mpilo Central Hospital yesterday embarked on a strike defying the Minister of Health Child Care Dr David Parirenyatwa who had warned against taking industrial action.
Before going on strike, the doctors petitioned Government to pay them their locum allowances among other issues.
Dr Mxolisi Ngwenya, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association, briefly said: “The strike is national.”
However, doctors reported for duty at the United Bulawayo Hospitals yesterday.
On Wednesday, Dr Parirenyatwa said Government was doing its best to address doctors’ grievances hence there was no need for them to go on strike. THE Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) received 371 complaints against legal practitioners last year and the cases include money laundering, forgery and abuse of trust funds.
The lawyers’ regulatory body said the increase in complaints against its members could be a result of economic challenges, peer pressure and poor in-house training.
In his 2017 annual report, LSZ president Mr Misheck Hogwe said the number of complaints has increased over the years as members of the public are now enlightened on their rights.
“The nature of complaints seen this year include abuse and misappropriation of trust funds, money laundering, incompetence, forgery, and failure to honour irrevocable letters of undertaking.
Landlords and law firm employees have also approached the LSZ seeking help to recover their dues. Council has a standing position that failure to pay office rentals as well as salaries and wages is prima facie an act of unprofessional conduct,” said Mr Hogwe.
He said some members had been charged for practising without practising certificates (PCs) and some law firms have had to be closed.
According to the report, the LSZ received 371 complaints in 2017 and managed to clear only 27 and now has a cumulative backlog of 1 097 since 2014 in its system.
“As council, it is our role to arrest this increase in backlog so that we give confidence not only to members of the public but to those who bestowed us with the self-regulatory
The Minister could not be reached on his mobile last night.
In a notice addressed to Mpilo staff, the hospital’s clinical director, Dr Solwayo Ngwenya, advised all members of staff to do all they could to save lives during the strike.
“I hereby advise staff members that doctors have taken industrial action with effect from March 1, 2018. However, we will do all we can to attend to emergencies and continue saving lives,” said Dr Ngwenya.
“We do not condone strikes by doctors and as Mpilo we have taken contingent measures to concentrate on emergencies so that we save lives. I do hope they will suspend the strike quickly while Government addresses their concerns so there is no unnecessary loss of life.”
Yesterday, the doctors handed a letter to Dr Ngwenya, addressed to Dr Parirenyatwa, saying there was lack of urgency in addressing their issues. authority. We have to work hard to jealously guard this status,” he said. “We have 1 097 cases which are in the LSZ system at the moment. Council finalised almost 200 cases which were placed before it. In addition, the Secretariat disposed of more than 100 cases either through mediation or by dismissal at an initial stage. We have set targets for 2018 for the secretariat in which Council wants to see a reduction in this backlog.”
Mr Hogwe attributed the increase in complaints by members of the public to the presence of the LSZ at the Trade Fair, Agricultural Shows and Open Days.
“This has resulted in a spike in the number of complaints that we receive each year. This has been worsened by other factors like poor in house training, economic pressure, peer pressure, societal expectations and unrealistic marital expectations.” said Mr Hogwe.
He said in 2017, the LSZ received more than 200 applicants to be admitted into the profession resulting in the profession surpassing the 1 600 mark. “The number of practising certificates issued each year continues to increase. This year, we surpassed the 1600 mark. Of these, 527 practicing certificates were issued to female lawyers. Though there was a slight decrease in the number of legal practitioners in private practice this year compared to last year, statistically, the female legal practitioners in private practice are at 35 percent of the membership,” said Mr Hogwe.
He said 39 new law firms were opened in 2017 with Harare contributing 25 and Bulawayo six.
Mr Hogwe urged members to carefully consider opening law firms as some of them were struggling to pay rentals as well as salaries and wages. — @AuxiliaK
“This serves as a notice that with effect from March 1 we will be unable to discharge our normal duties until such a time the ministry decides to prioritise our people’s health. Our locums remain unpaid since October 2017 and we remain severely understaffed. There are no essential drugs and fluids and patients are dying unnecessarily. There has been no written response from you to address this and no tangible efforts,” read the letter.
“Working hours remain ill-defined and at the whim of the admin and our allowances have not been graded as per regional standards, a concern we raised in our letter dated February 5.”
They also said any timetables made without approval and consultation of the doctors’ association will not be adhered to.
Patients who went to the institution were yesterday told to come back some other time or wait for one doctor who was assigned to cover the Casualty Department.
One patient, Ms Sibusisiwe Dube, who suffers from a brain tumour, told The Chronicle that nurses had asked her to come back next week for a check-up as no doctor could attend to her. “I am coming from Mpilo and I was told that doctors are on strike and that they could not help me. I am in constant pain which requires routine check-ups but I couldn’t have one today because there are no doctors,” said Ms Dube.
An official at Mpilo who spoke on condition of anonymity said there was one doctor who was asked to attend to patients at the Casualty.
Doctors petitioned the Minister on February 5, giving Government 21 days to address a number of grievances that include the issue of allowances, vehicles and shortage of medicines and equipment in hospitals. — @thamamoe
Law Society receives 371 complaints against legal practitioners