ON-CALL ALLOWANCES: OVER 50% DOCTORS PAID BUT ...

MBABANE - “Until everybody has been paid, we will not go back on duty.”

This statement was made by On-Call Committee Chairperson Dr Zabenguni Mkhatshwa. Mkhatshwa said over 50 per cent of the on-call staff had confirmed to have received their monies so far. She said it was promising as more people were still confirming receipt of their monies. The chairperson said they would not work after hours, until everybody received what was due to them. She said even if the last person to receive the allowance got it minutes before 5pm, they were willing to take the overtime. Meanwhile, it was a challenging night for nurses working in the country’s hospitals, as there were no doctors in sight. Some of the hospitals that were faced with the challenging situation are the Mbabane Government and Hlatikhulu Government hospitals.

Observe

This reporter visited the Mbabane Government Hospital, which was busy after hours, especially after 9pm to observe the situation. The nurses at the emergency ward were seen being assisted by the sister-in-charge, who, however, left them, and informed them that they knew where to find her in case they encountered challenges. What was observed by this reporter was that most of the patients who were attended to did not require any surgeries, which eased the burden on the healthcare workers and prevented any crisis. The maternity wing also managed to pull through. Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union Deputy Secretary General (DSG) Saneliso Mavuso, confirmed that they received a report that the two abovementioned hospitals had to engage the sisters-in-charge as per the protocol when dealing with challenging situations.

Mavuso said the nurses did their best and there were no casualties reported. He said the healthcare professionals managed to handle the situation along with the sisters-in-charge and did not leave patients to die.  However, he noted that senior medical officers (SMOs) in some of the hospitals had promised to avail themselves whenever the nurses encountered difficulties and required their assistance.He said the situation was inconveniencing and as an organisation, they felt that the health sector was among the neglected ones. “We are the number one neglected sector in the country yet it should not be the case.”

According to Mavuso, the health sector is very critical and requires all the attention it deserves, especially because they are taking care of the health of the nation’s economic drivers. He said even if government could be struggling, the health sector should be the last to suffer.

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