29 years later, Plumtree Nursing School set to open

CLOSE to three decades after its construction, the Plumtree Nursing School is finally set to open its doors before the end of this year in a development expected to bolster the country’s critical healthcare workforce.

Zimbabwe has in recent years grappled with shortages of Registered General Nurses (RGNs), Primary Care Nurses (PCNs), laboratory scientists and other essential health personnel, with rural provinces recording the highest vacancy rates. As a result, health institutions have been operating at below 50 percent of their required staffing levels, a situation worsened by continued outward migration.

In response, the Government has intensified nurse training across the country as part of the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s strategy to double the national health workforce by 2030. The plan seeks to meet rising demand for services and address persistent shortages in public health facilities.

The ministry has indicated it is targeting at least 32 000 additional public health jobs by 2030, alongside reducing workforce attrition by 50 percent through focused interventions.

Speaking after a recent tour of Plumtree District Hospital, Health and Child Care Minister, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, confirmed that the Plumtree Nursing School will take its first intake before year-end.

The announcement has sparked excitement in the community, particularly among young people who view the nursing profession as a pathway to employment and a better future. The reopening of the school is also expected to generate jobs for locals, not only in healthcare but in administration, maintenance and various support services, providing a timely boost to an economy that has long struggled to create opportunities.

The minister said the Government’s commitment to operationalising the school this year underscores its focus on strengthening healthcare infrastructure while expanding employment prospects.

“In Plumtree, we identified a training facility that requires minimal refurbishment, and I have set a target for it to be operational by September. For the first intake, we agreed that the majority of students will come from Mangwe and Bulilima so that local communities benefit directly,” said Dr Mombeshora.

Plumtree District Hospital medical officer Dr Joe Nganunu said it was pleasing that the long awaited dream of a nursing school in the district was finally being realised.

“The school was completed in 1997. However, there was never an intake ever since its establishment. It can take up to 20 students. The structures just need a bit of refurbishment due to the wear and tear over the past 29 years.

“Having locally trained nurses will ease the current shortage caused by high staff attrition. Mangwe District has one of the highest vacancy rates in the province even nationally. The facility, which was constructed 29 years ago, has stood idle for nearly three decades,” said Dr Nganunu.

Having locally trained nurses is expected to help ease the staffing crisis, particularly in Mangwe, which is reported to have some of the highest vacancy levels in the province and nationally.

Bulilima legislator Cde Dingumuzi Phuti, said the opening of the training institution was long overdue.

“Bulilima has long suffered failure to have our young people absorbed in the nurse training owing to various ills. It is my hope that this will give an opportunity to young people with a passion for nursing to be absorbed.

“The Minister of Health and Child Care rightfully assessed that training locals helps keep them in serving their areas as opposed to having those from far away areas who upon probation would transfer to other places, preferably of their origin.

“This is indeed the walk on President ED Mnangagwa’s philosophy of inclusivity, devolution and easy access to Government services and opportunities. Indeed this is a milestone development,” said Cde Phuti.

A Mangwe villager, Ms Lethukuthula Ncube of Empandeni welcomed the development.

“We hope that the promise to open the nursing school this year will be fruitful as we are eager to take up jobs in nursing and improve our livelihoods,” said Ms Ncube.