THERE was drama at Chitungwiza Central Hospital yesterday when nurses downed tools demanding that the administration immediately address the deplorable and meagre services being offered to the institution’s patients.
BY TINOTENDA MUNYUKWI
The nurses, out of sympathy with their patients’ plight, took to the streets, holding placards and demanding an end to what they claim to be an “ongoing maladministration” which has left the dormitory town’s biggest health institution failing to adequately serve.
A key area of concern, which prompted the protest was the recurring sadza and cabbage meals that have been the sole diet the sick patients are being forced to do with, regardless of the various nutritional balances that doctors prescribe for quick recovery.
Furthermore, the nurses claim that the hospital is failing to provide adequate clothing such as disposable vinyl gloves for them to use when they care for their patients, placing them at the risk of handling the sick with bare hands and contracting diseases.
When NewsDay arrived at the scene, business had been restored, and some nurses, who requested anonymity, said they downed their tools because they care about their patients and as such, they cannot compromise medical standards when in fact, it is the administration of the hospital, which was supposed to be accountabl e. “We are already back at work, all we did was to raise an alarm on these recurring issues that we think the administration or whoever is responsible has been overlooking and our patients have been suffering,” one of the nurses said.
Efforts to reach the hospital CEO, Obadiah Moyo were futile, with the number provided by the hospital going unanswered.
In 2015, the hospital brewed a storm after Chitungwiza residents raised alarm on the privatisation of some essential medical services such as the pharmacy and laboratory, making them expensive and beyond the reach of many of the dormitory town’s residents of limited financial muscle.
