The shortage of nursing tutors has continued to dog the training of nurses at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals School of Nursing.
The school’s principal tutor Regina Kanyemba told delegates at the graduation ceremony of 165 nurses held at a city hotel in Harare, the school had only 10 out of 35 required tutors.
She said the retention of tutors was a big challenge, adding the school had 18 clinical instructors instead of 25. She cited low salaries and poor conditions of service as the major causes of the crisis.
Parirenyatwa Hospital chief executive officer Thomas Zigora urged the government to have more healthcare institutions because Parirenyatwa was overwhelmed by demand.
“Parirenyatwa currently has to cope with an unprecedented increase in the patient workload, so much so that admitted patients sometimes continue treatment in the casualty observation ward because of a shortage of beds.
“We therefore plead with the-powers-that-be to take appropriate action to address this anomaly in the referral chain and ensure an intermediary level institution is constructed within Harare. This will ensure different categories of patients inclusive of residents of Harare and its immediate environs are catered for,” Zigora added.
