A CRITICAL shortage of qualified nurses has hit Buhera, with some clinics in the district being run by primary care nurses (PCNs).
By Phyllis Mbanje
A recent tour of Buhera revealed that in some cases only one or two nurses were in charge of a clinic serving more than 5 000 people.
The nurses were struggling to manage the huge numbers that visit the clinic daily, including delivery of babies, making the situation dire.
At Mudawose clinic in Ward 23, Buhera Central, there was only one nurse for some time, until the Ministry of Health recently provided another.
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Chairperson of the Health Centre Committee, whose task is to bridge the gap between the facility and the community, Paul Chiduku urged government to provide more health personnel to the area. “There is a serious shortage of staff here and although we are grateful for the one nurse, who has joined Mudawose clinic, they are still too few,” he said.
The clinic handles over 26 deliveries a month and this has put a huge strain on the two nurses. “We are trying to manage under the circumstances, but it can be stressful, especially if either of us attends a workshop and there is only one to attend to all the patients,” Caroline Mhaka, a nurse, said.
At Chapanduka clinic, Tariro Mtambwa, a PCN, is in charge of the facility with help of a nurse aide, Priscilla Zvavamwe.
“I used to be alone and it was very bad because then there was no water. I would walk a long distance to get water to use and then come back to attend to patients,” Mtambwa explained.
The concept of PCNs was introduced due to the acute shortage of health personnel at most government institutions, which was hampering the delivery of health services.
The country has experienced a steady decline in the number of nurses that remain in Zimbabwe after basic training.
In an effort to strengthen retention of trained nurses, the government designed a training curriculum that would see nurses being trained within an 18-month period. Graduands are called PCNs and are meant to service rural areas.