BY STAFF REPORTER THE Nurse Aides Association of Zimbabwe Trust (NAAZT) has called on government to accord nurse aides more recognition and provide them with more and better career opportunities since they are playing a pivotal role in the country’s health delivery system.
“We as NAAZT are calling for recognition by government through the Ministry of Health and Child Care and other relevant departments in Zimbabwe.
“We form part of the country’s indispensable health delivery system and are, in fact, a critical arm of health delivery in Zimbabwe despite the lowly manner that we are regarded by many,” association president Yotamu Mlauzi Chagwada said in a letter addressed to Health deputy minister John Mangwiro last week.
The nurse aides’ representatives implored government to facilitate training and industrial attachments for nurse aide students at national health institutions.
“There is no proper legislation to stand for, guide and protect nurse aides and we call for this matter to be taken to relevant national bodies, including Parliament, so that issues of working conditions for nurse aides, including their salaries, are properly addressed and legislated,” Chagwada said.
Nurse aides in Zimbabwe, like many countries elsewhere in the world, are generally looked down upon despite providing key basic services in the health sector.
In most cases, their conditions of service are measured and rewarded on the basis of their generally low educational requirements and short periods of training.
They belong to the lowest tier on the remuneration list in many institutions, including government hospitals.
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