NSSA nurses’ conference opens

businesses pay for health services through extra training of nurses employed at various organisations, an official said yesterday.
Speaking at the opening of the week-long occupational health nurses course in Harare on Monday, NSSA general manager, Mr James Matiza, said extensive training showed the organisation was adding value to workers.

“Unless occupational safety and health is delivered appropriately at the workplace, decent work which is every worker’s right will remain a pipe dream,” he said.
The numbers of both serious and fatal occupational injuries were said to be disappointing for the families, workplaces and country at large.
Mr Matiza said more than 50 organisations signed up for the course.
“The social security schemes we manage at NSSA were not created for dead workers, rather, they are designed for workers to enjoy their pensions once they retire.

“However, failure in occupational safety and health contributed to their untimely demise.”
About 2035 serious injuries and 42 fatalities were recorded as of June 2011, which was an improvement from 2 244 injuries and 44 fatalities over the same period last year.
Director of occupational safety and health, Mr Rodgers Dhliwayo, said NSSA was aiming to achieve best health standards by running the course.

Mr Dhliwayo said the University of Zimbabwe did not offer training in occupational health services and NSSA had taken the task to provide such knowledge.
“It is of paramount importance that the nurses learn how to handle different occupational situations because people might die if the necessary measures are not taken.

“This is just another development by NSSA to ensure that the correct thing is happening at these organisations and it is actually helping to reduce the amount of ignorance,” he said.
NSSA is mandated to compensate workers who get injured while on duty hence the concern on occupational safety and health.

This year NSSA suspended operations at 110 firms for failing to comply with occupational and health laws and this course covered most of the serious offences that firms infringed upon including the Pneumoconiosis Act.