Cabinet okays health sector partnerships

Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
Cabinet has given the Ministry of Health and Child Care the green light to enter into arrangements with the private sector for the construction of houses to ease accommodation challenges for health workers. This is also expected to address challenges on deployment of the health workers. Speaking at the inauguration of the Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital board last week, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said accommodation challenges made it difficult to attract staff.

“As a country we are going into a programme to build hostels at institutions across the country,” he said. “We have been allowed to do that and we are looking at some form of partnerships where we will build clusters and flatlets to ease accommodation challenges.”

Dr Parirenyatwa said the programme was a top priority this year. He cited Ekusileni Hospital in Bulawayo where 22 flats await occupation once the health facility becomes operational, as a good model.

Dr Parirenyatwa said Government would start exporting nurses this year, as it fails to absorb about 4 000 trained nurses.

“This year we are starting the systematic export of our trained nurses who have not been absorbed, so that we do not have to retrain them owing to redundancy,” he said.

Dr Parirenyatwa said the country could benefit from its nurse training programmes by having graduates absorbed across the world.

This followed indications by Chinhoyi Hospital medical superintendent Dr Collet Mawire that they had reverted to two nurse training intakes.

The CPH board will be chaired by pharmacist and businesswoman Ms Matilda Jairos assisted by Dr Lazarus Chitambo, Mr Fani Chikomba, Mr Misheck Munyonga, magistrate Miss Patience Chirimo, Chinhoyi University of Technology Vice Chancellor Professor David Simbi and the hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Mawire.

The board is expected to work out ways to finance the hospital in a sustainable way.

Ms Jairos called for unity of purpose and engagement of the community in the running of the hospital.