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Dr David Parirenyatwa

Herald Reporters—-
Patients were left stranded at major Government hospitals yesterday after service delivery was paralysed by a strike by junior doctors who are demanding that their monthly salary be raised from $282 to $1 200. More than 300 doctors mainly from Government central hospitals and some district hospitals joined in the strike that started yesterday over poor remuneration and working conditions.

There was chaos at Parirenyatwa Hospital where patients packed the Casualty Department as they waited for long hours to be attended to by the few available doctors.
The hospital’s chief executive officer Mr Thomas Zigora declined to comment on the strike.

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Workers at Harare Hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity said doctors were not attending to patients at the Out Patients Department because of the strike, but were attending to emergency cases only.

At Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo, the biggest referral centre in Matabeleland, there was a notice informing patients that doctors would only attend to “emergencies.”
“Please note that doctors are on strike,” read the notice on the hospital’s bulletin board. “Only dire emergencies will be attended to. All outpatient clinics are hereby suspended till further notice.”

The situation was the same at the United Bulawayo Hospitals.
Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) media and publicity officer Mr Francis Rwodzi said they held an executive meeting at the end of day yesterday whose aim was to evaluate the impact of the strike and mapping the way forward.

He said ZHDA had received an overwhelming response as most doctors joined the strike and said they would only return to work when their demands were met.
“ZHDA is happy that the strike has achieved the intended results as this was shown by the number of doctors who joined the strike,” said Mr Rwodzi. ZHDA president Dr Fortune Nyamande said doctors and other health professionals went on strike because meetings with the Ministry of Health and Child Care over their “poor working conditions” were not fruitful.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa urged the doctors to return to work as they were an essential service.
He advised them to interact with the Government and the Health Services Board to discuss their grievances on their working conditions.