By Own Correspondent
Doctors at one of the country’s referral health centre, Sally Mugabe Hospital is formally known as Harare Central Hospital has stopped reporting for duty citing inadequate medical equipment in face of the COVID 19 global pandemic.
Zimbabwe has so far recorded three confirmed cases of coronavirus and one death.
Medical professionals associations have cried foul over the public health institutions which remain ill-equipped to handle the virus.
Harare’s Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital, which is the country’s main isolation centre is short of equipment.
In a letter addressed to the hospital’s clinical director, chief executive officers, Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) president, Tawanda Zvakada said they will be withdrawing their services with immediate effect.
“Pursuant to the meeting we had on Monday 23 March 2020. In which we communicated our genuine grievances and expressed our fears concerning this deadly pandemic which has not spared healthcare workers as well. We expected an urgent response in writing from your office which has not come up until now.
“We have expressed the issue of PPE which is still not yet available. The way in which the hospital is to be functioning still remains verge. Whilst you continue to run around putting things in place we would like to make it clear in no uncertain terms that our members will not be able to continue carrying out their duties with immediate effect. Any inconveniences caused regarding this position we have taken is sincerely regrettable but it was necessitated by a communication breakdown between the top management and frontline doctors.”
A number of doctors in countries hit by the pandemic like Italy and China have died of COVID 19 contracted from patients they were attending to.
