By Paidashe Mandivengerei
Senior doctors have today (Wednesday) vowed not to reapply for their jobs in the event that they are fired by government for participating in the ongoing doctors job action.
The senior medical practitioners who were still providing emergency health service in public hospitals downed tools yesterday (Tuesday) have started receiving letters from the Health Service Board (HSB) summoning them to disciplinary hearings.
They are demanding that 448 sacked doctors be reinstated and their grievances be addressed urgently.
In a statement released today, Zimbabwe Senior Hospital Doctors Association described the public health institutions as ‘death traps’ without proper equipment.
“There was much fanfare and ribbon cutting, and images of warehouses full of drugs
which turned out to be cartons of fluids. Out of an inventory list of 2000 items, only
about 60 had been purchased. The Indian consignment was a great disappointment.
The vast majority of the equipment which was released was completely unusable. This past week, technicians arrived to commission the remaining equipment. They
proceeded to unveil second hand, refurbished equipment which is no longer being
manufactured by the parent company (details available). The hospitals continue to be
poorly stocked and remain a death trap, even with the presence of the hard-working,
highly specialized workforce that Zimbabwe has.”
SHDA blasted their employer, HSB for going as far as following doctors to emergency rooms just to deliver disciplinary hearing letters.
“As we speak, disciplinary letters are being handed out to senior doctors, including
those who have been doing their best to save lives in the hostile public sector. The
authorities are so vindictive that they went to theatre to hand a letter to a doctor who
was finishing up an emergency operation. For the record, senior doctors will not be reapplying to come back to work. We do not accept that one can be dismissed for being incapacitated to come to work in an unsafe environment with nothing to use.”
