NURSES TO PICKET COUNTRYWIDE – SWADNU

MBABANE – The Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) has said that nurses will soon be picketing nationwide over the shortage of medical supplies and equipment.

This was confirmed by SWADNU President Welcome Mdluli after Mbabane Government Hospital nurses decided to picket during their lunch hour yesterday, over the shortage of medical supplies and an inadequate diet for the patients admitted to the health facility. This picketing started at the hospital’s entrance near the Out-Patient Department, where the nurses gathered, carrying placards with statements reading: “We demand medical supplies and equipment,” and “Tafa yindlala tigulane tetfu,” which can be translated to mean “Our patients are dying of hunger.” According to a source close to the matter, the nurses have resolved to picket during their lunch hour for the next few days. However, the number of days this picketing will occur has not yet been determined.

Food

It was gathered that the food shortage started on Thursday October 7, 2021, where patients were now mostly being served food that was not up to par with health standards and did not meet the daily diet requirements. For instance, most patients are being served what is available instead of what is specific to their diet.
When questioned to elaborate on the grievances they had, the nurses mentioned that patients were no longer getting their prescribed meals; for example those with diabetes were no longer being served an appropriate diet, those who use intravenous tubes to ingest their meals could no longer do so because there was no soft diet available; this is mostly foods that have been turned to liquid in order for the patient to be fed through the tube.

“You find that morning soft and sour porridge is served without any sugar and the tea is now also mostly served on its own, with no bread or sugar,” said the source. Worth noting is that, despite these dietary issues, the patients at the hospital are required to still take their prescribed medication and adhere to and comply with their times of intake.

During their picketing, the nurses also stated that they were worried that the shortage of prescription drugs and medical supplies was not being addressed or being addressed only when someone made a noise about it. “The drugs shortage issue is a song we sing daily and we are not the only health facility with this problem. Our main issue is that once we state which drugs are in short supply, only those will be provided to us and then the other drugs which are available also diminish,” said the nurses.

The medical supplies which were stated to be in short supply were listed as examination gloves, blood administration set, fluid administration set, folley catheter, chest drainage tubes and bottles. The prescription drugs in short supply were listed as; ringers lactate solution, oxytocin, omeprazole, scopex, mayogel, calcium guconate injection, metronidazole tablets, nifedipine, tramadol tablets and metoclopramide.

SWADNU President Mdluli stated that he was aware of the picket by the nurses and as a union they were in full support of it. “You find that the patients are being served soft porridge without sugar and the diet is generally insufficient. We are aware of the issues being raised by our colleagues and we support them fully, we can’t sit by while our patients are taking medication on an empty stomach, this affects the way the medication works in the patient’s body,” said the president.

He said the Mbabane nurses’ picket was only the beginning and other health facilities would soon join in because the issue of medication was a problem. “The government has decided to prioritise the construction of a Parliament building yet the health system is failing and we cannot sit by and watch this happen,” said Mdluli.

Aware

Director of Health Services in the Ministry of Health Dr Vusi Magagula was called for comment on the issued raised by the nurses, to which he mentioned that although he was not aware of the picket, the issue of medical supplies and medication shortage was one they were aware of as a ministry.  He mentioned that there were a lot of logistical issues which fuelled this shortage such as suppliers not delivering on time due to perhaps delayed past payments, the ongoing unrest because most trucks needed to be escorted into the country to avoid being vandalised or torched, which in some cases, the assistance from Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) was stretched.

He further highlighted that in her speech last Friday at Mandvulo Grand Hall, Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi also pointed out that many factors contributed to the shortage of medication in some instances such as the suppliers’ delivery times and a few other logistics.

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