Beginning on the 7th of January, The Senior Hospital Doctors Association executive embarked on an exercise of going through the hospitals together with the hospital managers; to inspect and physically see the restocking that had been done as well as highlighting on the state of the hospital equipment in the central hospitals around the country. The exercise was meant to determine the level of service members would now be capable of offering in the institutions when operational. The SHDA mandated members managed to go through all the central hospitals except one whose management was hostile.
On 15 January 2020, the SHDA executive met the Acting President, His Excellency Honorable CDGN Chiwenga and deliberated and deliberating on the issues bedeviling the health delivery system of the nation. The Acting President has expressed his commitment to a holistic approach to handling the situation.
In a meeting of the members of the SHDA on 20 January 2020, members agreed to upscale from only offering emergency services to include the urgent cases which could not be assisted all along based on the assessments done by their executive. This is meant to ease the suffering of the masses who are the consumers of our services despite the lack of commitment from the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
The issues that caused the incapacitation remain unresolved. In view of the persisting shortages, relatives are expected to actively take part in the care of their loved ones through the purchase of drugs and sundries from time to time, including some drugs that are ordinarily hospital based and not found in general pharmacies. Some complicated surgeries and other procedures requiring sophisticated equipment shall remain suspended until such a time equipment is availed.
The Flexi hours system remains actively in place despite all efforts to compel the Ministry of Health and Child Care to remove it. As a way of mitigating against the impact of the flexi hours system, seeing only urgent and emergency cases shall help limit the number of admissions to minimize on patient losses that are caused by the flexi-hours system.
Doctors’ salaries remain low and unable to sustain their ability to offer full service. The SHDA is thankful to the Higher Life Foundation for its commitment towards scholarships and mentorship funds towards the doctors as well as its various initiatives towards improving the health delivery service in Zimbabwe. Doctors hope the government will honor its responsibility to paying a livable wage to its workers soon.
Source: Senior Hospital Doctors Association (SHDA)
