Chronicle EditorAbigail Mawonde Herald Correspondent
Government hospitals require 8 000 additional nurses if they are to effectively respond to the growing demand for health care in the country, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa has said.
He did not reveal the current number of nurses in Government hospitals.
Dr Parirenyatwa made the remarks during the hand over of an ambulance donated to Chivhu Hospital by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, recently.
“At one time, when we visited Masvingo General Hospital, we were told that the hospital had 188 nurses but they needed 40 more nurses.
“The 188 nurses at the hospital were the available posts, and all of them were full but they felt they needed 40 more nurses. From there we then carried out a research around the country to ascertain the human resources situation in other hospitals,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
He said the research informed them of the deficit.
“We realised that our country needed between 7 000 to 8 000 more nurses to be employed yet currently we have 3 000 qualified nurses that are unemployed,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
The scarcity of financial resources has seen Treasury placing a freeze on recruitment by Government institutions.
“I am saying this for people to know such that if Minister Mike Bimha and I are in the Cabinet, whenever I raise the issue that we need the health establishment to be raised, he may give me his full support,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
Cde Bimha is the Member of Parliament for Chikomba West, a constituency where Chivhu Hospital is situated.
“The establishment that we are currently operating with was promulgated in 1983 but the population has increased. The workload has increased, and the patterns of diseases have diversified.
“So, we need more staff, but I am being told that once an institution has been declared full, it is full, and others looking for employment should wait for other chances that may arise. But I am saying, no, let us look at the establishment and absorb all those nurses who are unemployed and give more services to our people,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
He said besides looking at human resources in the health institutions, it was also important to ensure the availability of drugs, satisfactory infrastructure, adequate equipment, reliable transport to hospitals.
Dr Parirenyatwa said good communication channels also enable efficient health service delivery in the country.
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