5 NEW BEAUTIFUL CLINICS RIDDLED WITH PROBLEMS

MBABANE – While government meant well when constructing five new clinics, the challenges faced by these health facilities threaten their existence.

For one, the nurses working in the newly-constructed health facilities want transfers, citing lack of housing, which contributes to high transport costs. Some of the nurses said they were allegedly forced to commute on a daily basis, as it was difficult to secure affordable accommodation in the areas surrounding the health facilities. They made these remarks following the budget speech presented by the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, where he said government had improved the network of health facilities countrywide, as they had implemented the policy of having a health facility within every eight-kilometre (km) radius. Rijkenberg said this had been done through constructing and operationalising more health facilities in all four regions of the country. He stated that these included clinics constructed at Hlane, Nkomazi, Sidvokodvo (Luve), Magwanyana and Tikhuba.

Incinerator

The clinics were constructed between 2021 and 2022. They have an incinerator and generator building, guardhouse, wash bay, screening offices, and cough booths among other facilities.
All the clinics have the same designs and similar paintings. During a visit to some of the clinics by this publication, nurses were found going about their daily duties. This reporter was allowed to go around the facilities but urged not to take pictures of the interior. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the nurses related the daily struggles they had encountered since they started working in the clinics, in 2022. The nurses said their biggest challenge was the issue of housing. They said government overlooked accommodation for personnel when constructing the clinics.

According to the healthcare workers, they were promised that their houses would be built a year ago but that has not happened. They explained that they were forced to travel long distances and spend a lot of money on transport, just to be at work. One nurse shared that she was forced to travel from Manzini to the health facility which is over 40km on a daily basis.
Some of the nurses stated that the roads leading to the facilities were in a terrible state and they struggled with public transport. “For us, we have no public transport due to the roads and we rely on taxis. Every day you have to pay for a taxi, both in the morning and afternoon. We spend E200 daily on taxis and further pay for public transport to connect us to our houses,” one nurse claimed. Adding, they said some nurses were spending their own money in renting houses in the nearby communities. The healthcare personnel explained that they had engaged authorities on numerous occasions, with no change. “We were told that places were demarcated for the staff houses but even today, we are still waiting for those houses. Those who rent houses in the communities pay a lot of money determined by the landlords,” the nurses claimed.

Transfers

According to the nurses, they had already applied, to other facilities closer to their places of abode or those with housing. They explained that their transfers were allegedly not approved by their superiors. The nurses stated that they were allegedly told to have a replacement before their transfers could be authorised. They pleaded with government to review its legislation and allow nurses to be posted next to their home areas or places of abode. The healthcare workers mentioned that such a move would help address the current issue of lack of housing.

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