via Provincial, district doctors join strike | The Herald 12 November 2014 by Diana Nherera
Doctors at provincial and district hospitals yesterday joined in the strike that started a fortnight ago over poor salaries and working conditions, further crippling the country’s health delivery system.
This was despite an appeal by Government on Monday for the striking doctors at central hospitals to return to work while their grievances are being looked into.
The doctors are demanding a monthly salary of US$1 200 up from US$282 and a facility for them to import cars duty free.
They also want their housing allowances to be adjusted from US$250 to US$350.
The industrial action has seen major referral hospitals such as Parirenyatwa Group of Hospital, Harare Central Hospital, Mpilo Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals only attending to emergency cases due to manpower shortages.
Most patients have resorted to council clinics for treatment with a few going to the more expensive private hospitals.
The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) said in a statement yesterday that doctors at provincial and district hospitals joined the strike due to the inability of Government to resolve their grievances.
“As negotiations between Government and ZHDA continue, we have been directed by the doctors working at district and provincial hospitals countrywide to communicate with the provincial medical directors in all 10 provinces that they have withdrawn their services with immediate effect,” said the ZHDA.
The downing of tools is also a result of the “overwhelming” work burden which the doctors said was a result of what they described as a “dysfunctional referral system”.
ZHDA said it “noted with great concern” the failure by Government to manage initial grievances presented by doctors from central hospitals.
The statement further noted that provincial and district hospital doctors worked under strenuous conditions with an average of one to two doctors per district, which is a highly inappropriate doctor to patient ratio.
“In return, doctors working in these hospitals, like their counterparts in central hospitals, earn meagre salaries and allowances coupled with working in resource strained hospitals,” read the statement.
ZHDA has urged the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the Health Services Board and the Ministry of Finance who are handling the doctors’ negotiations, to urgently address their grievances.
“This latest move has disastrous consequences to the nation’s health delivery system and the ZHDA continues to urge the Ministry of Health and Child Care to honour the pledges as agreed so far,” said the doctors.
The Health Services Board offered doctors a new on-call allowance of US$10 per hour from the current 35 cents and introduced a risk allowance against such diseases as the Ebola, tuberculosis and Aids, but they said they would only give the striking doctors a written commitment after the national budget presentation, expected this month.
ZHDA on Monday said they were unable to convince striking doctors to return to work without a written commitment.
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