Maravi

Bishop Mususu asks govt to address doctors’ demands

Bishop Mususu asks govt to address doctors’ demands
By Ernest Chanda, Kabanda Chulu, Misheck Wangwe and Abigail Cha
Thu 30 Sep. 2010, 04:00 CAT

BISHOP Paul Mususu has urged the government to act quickly and stop the countrywide strike by resident medical doctors before many lives are lost. And resident doctors in Kitwe have vowed that they will not resume work until the government improves the conditions of service.

Commenting on the strike by health workers which started on Monday this week, Bishop Mususu, who is former Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director, cautioned against going back to last year's situation. Bishop Mususu called on the government to meet the doctors' demands, saying the cause was genuine.

"Generally, a strike by health workers is the least anybody should expect because they doctors touch on the lives of people. Last year we had the same situation where all health workers went on strike and we lost a lot of lives.

It started in the same manner and we ignored it until the situation worsened. A machine breaks down and you find a replacement, but you cannot replace life," Bishop Mususu said.

“I think it's a justified demand from the doctors because things like equipment would make them operate efficiently. Now, if there is no equipment, they cannot operate properly. The people responsible, in this case the government, should act quickly before the situation deteriorates.

We should not play with people's lives because that is a dangerous thing to do."
Bishop Mususu wondered why the government could fail to meet the doctors' demands when they had always funded unnecessary activities.
He demanded that doctors be motivated through good salaries and other incentives.

"I think the doctors' demands are genuine and deserve quick action from the powers that be. We have seen this government quickly release money for by-elections and other unnecessary activities such as the NCC. But here is a genuine cause, but they don't want to give doctors what they want.

This is one of the things any government should pay attention to," Bishop Mususu said.
On chief government spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha's statement that the doctors were being used by opposition political parties, Bishop Mususu called for levelheadedness on the matter.

"If Gen Shikapwasha has evidence that the doctors are being used by politicians then he is justified. But to put a general condemnation on the doctors when he should be providing answers is totally wrong.

Looking at what the doctors have out forward so far, it is a genuine demand. Do we want our doctors to get into politics or join other organisations for money? Why not give them this same money they seek elsewhere so that they continue helping people?

I think let's remove politics and face the situation as it is. Let's call a spade a spade and deal with the issues raised by our doctors," demanded Bishop Mususu.
And a check at Kitwe Central Hospital (KCH) yesterday revealed that resident doctors did not even report for work.

Some doctors who spoke on condition of anonymity said government was to blame for the ongoing disagreements because it had failed to attend to their plight for a long time now.

The doctors said going on strike was the last resort that government forced them to take although they felt bad that patients were suffering because of their decision to down tools.

“As you know our vocation is to save lives but we deserve to be happy people as well. Resident doctors are human beings like any other person, we have families to look after but in this country it seems government does not attach importance to the welfare of medical personnel.

We have been patient with them for too long and we’ve continued to operate under difficult conditions. We are simply demanding for an upward adjustment of our salaries and an improvement in other conditions of service,” one of the doctors said.

They said the government should not expect doctors to work effectively under poor conditions of service.

The doctors said their expectations were that the ongoing negotiations between the Resident Doctors Association of Zambia (RDAZ) and the government would be treated with the expediency they deserved so that contentious issues regarding their demand for a pay rise and other conditions could be resolved.

And at Kitwe Central Hospital, some patients and visitors were found on the hospital lawn because of the overwhelming number of people that were being attended to by expatriate doctors in various departments and wards.

The strike action by resident doctors had forced the few expatriate doctors and senior medical personnel at the institution to be working for long hours.
And a check at several clinics and health centres across Kitwe revealed that the strike by resident doctors had minimal imPact.

At Buchi clinic, nurses who preferred anonymity said the operations were going on smoothly since the majority of the health workers were working.

Similar situations were obtaining at Chimwemwe, Kawama urban, Bulangililo and Kwacha clinics, where nurses said complicated cases were referred to the Central Hospital.

"Clinicians and nurses are working and they do most of the basic work unless when they face complicated cases that is when they refer such cases to the doctors hence the strike action by doctors has little effect to a certain extent,” said one of the workers.

In Ndola, some doctors threatened to join their striking colleages if the government does not move to address the problem.

“We are definitely going on strike and this won’t be good for the country but we are people and the government should respect us. We are going to have a meeting and we are going to inform the nation on our stance after a meeting,” said one of the doctors who refused to be named.

The doctors in Ndola further said they felt like they were not respected by government because they were also not being paid on time.
However, the situation at the hospital yesterday seemed normal as doctors were carrying out their usual duties.

Labels: DOCTORS, PAUL MUSUSU, STRIKE

posted by MrK @ 7:54 PM