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Sharon Chikowore Mashonaland West Bureau

The Health Services Board has requested Government to recruit more nurses, with most hospitals across Zimbabwe complaining of acute staff shortages at their institutions.

This came out during a tour of the Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital where staff members presented their grievances, outlining the shortages of nurses, which is affecting their duties.

The board acknowledged that more nurses are needed, especially in areas where hospitals and clinics are far away from the people.

Officials from the Health Services Board indicated that the challenges had been noted and presented to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

“As the Health Services Board, we represent different ministries so we forward your issue of shortage of nurses to the Ministry of Finance, which then approves that more nurses should be employed basing on their budget,” noted one of the officials.

“We do not employ nurses as the board, but we take it to the relevant authorities then we are given an order to do so.”

In his presentation, Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital medical superintendent Dr Collett Mawire said the institution was losing more nurses who were seeking greener pastures.

He said this had led to a critical staff shortage and brain drain in quality and experienced staff, hence the need for urgent review.

“The hospital currently has 279 nurses on establishment and ideally we need 350 nurses,” said Dr Mawire. “The nurse-patient ratio stands at about 1:15 instead of idea 1:5 for developing countries.”

Officials from the Health Services Board indicated that the challenges had been noted and presented to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

“As the Health Services Board, we represent different ministries, so we forward your issue of shortage of nurses to the Ministry of Finance which then approves that more nurses should be employed basing on their budget,” noted an official.

“We do not employ nurses as the board, but we take it to the relevant authorities, then we are given an order to do so.”

The Health Services Board was established by an Act of Parliament to ensure the well-being of workers in the sector and the good administration of health services and its maintenance in a high state of efficiency.

The board also received information on various challenges being faced by workers in the sector.