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Using same staff for mobile, static hospitals absurd - NGOCC

Using same staff for mobile, static hospitals absurd - NGOCC
By Kombe Chimpinde
Wed 01 June 2011, 03:50 CAT

THE government’s idea to use the same health personnel in static and mobile hospitals is unacceptable, according to NGOCC. Non Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) board director, Beatrice Grillo said the idea to use the same staff was absurd because the hospitals and health centres were critically understaffed.

“The problem that we have in Zambia is we have log-sited development before embarking on these mobile hospitals, we needed to ensure that the hospitals are properly maintained and equipped,” said Grillo in an interview.

“Now if we are going to remove nurses and put them in mobile hospitals then we are not doing any development because there is currently a big shortage of medical staff. Removing nurses and temporally deploying them on mobile health services will be a serious problem.”

Grillo said the government must not give Zambians false impressions that it would soon solve the challenges being faced in the health sector.

“If we have to deploy more nurses we will need more resources which I think we don’t have. This is why we are saying let us use resources we have to improve already existing facilities,” Grillo said.

“Yes, we need access to health care that is close to our people. But if you have little food it makes sense to use it efficiently than to spread it all over the place because we will end up with infrastructure with no facilities to use.”

She said there was no guarantee that the government would manage mobile hospitals when it had failed to efficiently and effectively run the already-existing infrastructure.

“These are issues that we are concerned about not the politics surrounding it. It’s a question of whether or not, we have resources to stretch or not,” Grillo said.

And Grillo doubted the government’s seriousness in handling the Global Funds.
Grillo’s comments come in the wake of the Global Fund’s decision to resume funding to Zambia under round eight and ten after the country repaid half of the misappropriated funds.

“Dr Mwaba has told us that they need to work on systems to ensure there is accountability in handling the funds, but it’s not a question of ‘we will work out systems’.

He Dr Mwaba was supposed to tell us that they have worked on these systems,” she said. “This statement tells us that they don’t have these systems in place. I think we need serious assurance of what this government has done and not what they are going to do.”

She reiterated her earlier calls for the government to prosecute global fund fraudsters.

“These people need to be booked. Justice must be done. We need to prosecute them to ensure the right message goes to would-be criminals,” said Grillo.

Labels: HEALTHCARE, MOBILE HOSPITALS, NGOCC

posted by MrK @ 5:10 PM