Govt to deploy ZDF doctors

Diana Nherera Herald Reporter
Government will deploy doctors from the uniformed forces to hospitals as a temporary measure to attend to patients and ensure normalcy prevails at the country’s hospitals as the industrial action by junior doctors entered its second day yesterday. Health and Child Care permanent secretary, Retired Brigadier-General Dr Gerald Gwinji, said yesterday that his ministry was still assessing the situation.

He said doctors from the Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Republic Police were on standby awaiting to be deployed to the hospitals.
Dr Gwinji was speaking after a closed door meeting between the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the Health Services Board and the Zimbabwe Hospitals Doctors Association (ZHDA).

He said senior doctors were attending to emergency cases.
“We have our colleagues who are attending to patients at hospitals countrywide and we also appeal to the Harare City Council’s health department not to refer non-emergency cases at the moment,” Dr Gwinji said.

The junior doctors went on strike on Monday demanding that their salaries be raised from $282 to $1 200.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said the meeting’s aim was to find a holistic approach on the issues affecting the health care system, not just the striking doctors.

ZHDA president Dr Fortune Nyamande said they would talk about the outcome of the meeting after briefing their members.