The Sunday Mail
Nurses fear scandal may compromise the country’s nursing standards
Shamiso Yikoniko – Health Reporter
Nurses who had embarked on a strike over on-call and night duty allowances have resumed duty after the Health Services Board agreed to raise what they are paid from US$3 to between US$50 and US$70 monthly.
The nurses downed tools for 11 days to protest unfair allocation of allowances after it emerged doctors were getting above US$250 in on-call and night duty allowances every month.
They also demanded a review of their grading system, which they said had been in a shambles since 2010.
Zimbabwe Nurses Association president Mrs Regina Smith yesterday said, “Nurses resumed duties on Friday after both the Health Services Board and Treasury agreed to resolve our complaints.”
The industrial action began at Harare and Chitungwiza Central Hospitals on April 27 and spread to Parirenyatwa and other Government facilities countrywide.
Health Services Board executive chair Dr Lovemore Mbengeranwa said, “Treasury has agreed to pay nurses on-call and night duty allowances with effect from May 1 and I am confident that by the end of this month, nurses will be getting their allowances.”
The strike crippled operations at referral health centres.
The situation saw Harare Central Hospital issuing a memorandum instructing all district and other institutions to stop referring patients to them.
The strike came amid allegations that some senior health officials and administrators were illegally allocating themselves night duty allowances.
Dr Mbengeranwa said the issue was being investigated.
“We are looking into our board minutes records and check where we could have made the oversight to be paying people in the ministry,” he said.
“This is purely a failure to notice the anomaly and not necessarily that the alleged ministry officials were defrauding HSB.”
