The Sunday Mail
Sharon Munjenjema
When all hope is lost in Zimbabwe’s major referral medical centres as a result of a strike by junior doctors, mission hospitals stand out as a glimmer of hope.
It’s a Good Friday afternoon at Makumbe District Hospital in Domboshawa, Goromonzi district.
The sky is partly cloudy promising, some rains and despite being a public holiday, it is business as usual at the Catholic-run healthcare facility.
Small groups of people, mainly relatives and friends of patients, sit on the neatly manicured lawn within the hospital yard as they wait afternoon visiting time.
They have come to check on their loved ones whom they left in the institution’s care.
As soon as the clock hits 1pm, the groups begin advancing towards the hospital’s main entrance.
A woman in her mid-forties sits on a bench adjacent to the ward entrance and appears unsettled.
This reporter engages her in a quick conversation where she reveals that she is waiting for a turn to go in and see her mother.
After this reporter identifies herself, amidst attempts by nurses at the hospital to bar any interviews, the woman says her mother was admitted last Wednesday.
This was after having failed to get treated at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, where doctors had joined others in Government hospitals on an industrial action over a number of grievances.
“We live in Hatcliffe and Parirenyatwa Hospital was the closest to home, but as you know, doctors are on strike there,” says the woman.
“We were there for two days, we could not get her to be admitted and her condition deteriorated, so we came here. She was seen by a doctor yesterday, pano pari nani,” said the woman.
As The Sunday Mail seeks more details, the woman’s relatives emerge from the ward wailing — the patient has died.
“I can’t speak with you anymore. I have to go,” says the woman as she joins her colleagues.
It seems the help from doctors at Makumbe might have come a little too late.
Valuable time was lost in the two days the woman’s mother was at Parirenyatwa Hospital where junior doctors refused to attend to her as they press for better working conditions.
But the professionals at hospitals like Makumbe are doing all they can.
Mr Norman Motsi from Domboshawa said, “My grandmother was admitted yesterday (Thursday) upon arrival. Doctors here and all the staff are working well. We have not encountered any problems everything is normal.”
An elderly Getrude Mukwisha, whose mother is also admitted at the institution, said: “We have heard there is a strike by doctors in Government hospitals, but here the doctors and nurses have been working.”
A new mother, Nyasha Zimbudzi, came out of a consultation room holding her baby boy, born a week ago.
“My baby was born with a small growth on the little finger. The sister attended to him in good time,” she said.
Makumbe District Hospital clinical officer Ms Plaxedes Mutangadura said the strike at Government medical institutions had increased pressure on them.
“I have no statistics but all I can say is we are overwhelmed,” she said. “There are a lot patients coming in from referral hospitals. Whether they could not be helped there or they just prefer Makumbe I don’t know, but we have been treating them here.”
A visit by The Sunday Mail to Parirenyatwa and Harare hospitals revealed a dire situation as most patients either waited or left the institutions without getting medical assistance.
However, there were indications last night that the striking doctors had reached an agreement with Government to return to work.
The junior doctors went on strike last month demanding an upward review of general allowances and improved working conditions.
