HARARE - Hospital performance is being jeopardised because of widespread nurse shortages after government froze vacant posts, a Cabinet minister has said.
During a tour of Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals (PGH) on Tuesday, David Parirenyatwa, Health and Child Care minister, said state-of-the-art equipment installed at the government hospital should be complimented by adequate medical staff.
“What has been exhibited is state-of-the-art, for instance, the stroke referral unit, its radiotherapy division has made it a true reference centre for cancer,” Parirenyatwa said.
“We saw the neurology department, which we have heard is now serving people from the region. Even the number of people here can tell you it is a referral centre.
“The issue of staff shortages, particularly nurses is a big challenge. You see where they are supposed to have one nurse per patient, they have 10. That is why we are saying the nurse freeze should be lifted.
“You saw at casualty, they were saying there is only one nurse. Human resources shortage is very high, including doctors, and it is a big challenge to our health sector,” he said responding to pleas made by PGH’s various department heads and media.
Due to a funding shortfall, Zimbabwe’s government has frozen about 400 nurses’ and doctors’ posts nationwide.
As a result, many qualified nurses have remained jobless.
Though extolling existing infrastructure, the minister said continuous investment would help maintain the hospital’s referral status.
“Every department should be able to put a catalogue of equipment so that the essence of it being a qua-ternary referral centre is maintained,” Parirenyatwa said.
As public confidence in government hospitals has taken a knock, well-heeled Zimbabweans have been flying abroad to seek medical care.
Asked if as the Health minister he would trust his treatment at PGH, Parirenyatwa said he has been receiving medical attention at the State institution for years.
“In fact this is my routine,” he said. “I always come here and even my mother. We come not because it is named Parirenyatwa, but that is one of the reasons of course. It does not make sense for me to go anywhere else so (PGH chief executive Thomas) Zigora knows I come here whenever I am not well. This is our place.”
Parirenyatwa told the media that his ministry was pushing for the recruitment of about 2 400 nurses.
Zimbabwe’s low nurse-patient-ratio shows understaffing remains a real issue across the health sector, and many State hospitals are down to the bone in terms of the number of frontline nursing staff they have due to cutting of posts to save money.