IN 1980, Zimbabwe’s health delivery service was chiefly public, with government being in control of the health of the entire country.
It was a taboo for one to be found operating as a private practitioner.
The culture spread quietly until around 1992 when private medical practitioners gradually increased in number, contributing to about 7% of national health delivery system, with the public sector contributing a magnificent 93%.
These were the days of the notorious and unpopular national economic policy, the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme, which recommended the introduction of user fees in healthcare facilities and the removal of government subsidies.
It was a huge turning point for the country, coupled with a devastating drought that brought the country to its knees.
Today, the population has gone past 16,3 million, a sharp rise from about eight million people at independence.
Public health service delivery is struggling with poor infrastructure, obsolete equipment, brain drain, high disease burden.
The private sector has stood firm, complementing government on all aspects of health and today, between 30% and 40% of health service delivery comes from the private sector in the country.
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This shows how important the private sector is and this automatically calls for esteemed recognition.
It is no doubt that the private sector stood tall during the COVID-19 pandemic in curbing both morbidity and mortality.
The country managed to put the deadly virus under control, thus shielding the populace from the deadly effects of the heinous virus.
Unscrupulous medical practitioners are taking advantage of poor healthcare services in public healthcare facilities and are busy running backyard surgeries and clinics, especially in remote areas.
Healthcare facilities are registered under Health Professions Act [Chapter 27:19], the same as medical practitioners.
Medical practitioners should be reminded that running an unregistered institution is a serious criminal offence which can attract a jail term.
Operating a healthcare facility when one is not registered is also a criminal offence, hence the need to be duly registered with the respective councils.
Doctors and dentists are registered with the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe, while nurses follow under the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe.
The mushrooming backyard facilities should be condemned as they put patients at risk.
It is imperative that patients check if medical institutions are registered.
The Health Professions Authority of Zimbabwe (HPAZ) has a daunting task of fishing out unregistered practices, but may not know some of the backyard surgeries or pharmacies, particularly in rural areas.
Today, cosmetic surgeries are sprouting everywhere and what is disturbing is that many of these centres are being run by unqualified people who are busy giving skin-lightening drips, weight reduction medicine and even fillers, which, if wrongly prescribed, can be catastrophic.
It is not a secret that any injections given to someone called a “patient” in our country should be administered by a medically-trained person and not someone who claims to have some knowledge of how injections are given.
Do the non-medical people running the cosmetic centres appreciate that one can get anaphylaxis from the drugs they use and the results may be calamitous if quick remedial action is not taken.
HPAZ should immediately swoop on all unregistered so-called healthcare facilities and the regulatory authority should provide a toll-free number that people can use to report unregistered facilities.
We cannot tolerate indiscipline in our precious medical sector, where some people are profiteering at the expense of patient safety.
It is no a brainer that Zimbabwe has a lot of talented, trained, skilled and experienced doctors who can compete on the world stage, but are limited by lack of resources and equipment, particularly in the public sector.
Many countries poach our experienced health workers by offering them lucrative working conditions and good salaries, leaving the country with a depleted workforce.
A strong health workforce is one of the prescribed six pillars of a strong health delivery system globally.
On another note, the private medical sector has lacked government support since time immemorial.
There is basically very little that government has done to develop the private sector, leaving it with no option except to look for capital on its own.
Borrowing from financial institutions have proven to be an uphill task, as interest rates are extortionate and many private practitioners have no collateral to use in borrowing.
This is tragic for a country that aims to have second to none medical care in a few years.
The government has even failed to offer private practitioners simple incentives like vehicle rebate, stands or land to motivate them to continue working for the country.
Gross domestic product does not segregate goods and services from the private sector.
At one time, I got surprised to see that private practitioners were not invited to important national health forums, yet they contribute close to 40% of medical practice.
When the country is in need of vital statistics, it is unfortunate if contributions from the private sector are not considered because many patients are attended to there.
Policymakers should appreciate the significance of private medical practitioners.
It is time unnecessary tariffs are removed from private medical practice.
