The Health Workers Union has defended nurses and other health practitioners for allegations of negligence by the public.
The Union says the allegation of poor service by health workers which has led public outcry is exaggerated.
In an interview with Qfm news, Union National Organizing Secretary Bruno Tembo says people must realize that the health sector is strained by inadequate manpower.
Mr. Tembo says it is unfortunate in some health institutions in the country, 50 patients are allocated to one nurse in a shift and that this development has a negative effect on how she attends to all them.
He says it will only be fair if the development is blamed on government which has the mandate to recruit more health staff.
Mr. Bruno says nurses are doing their best to ensure that those seeking medical attention are attended to and that this must be appreciated.
Recently a woman at Kitwe Central Hospital delivered in a car and accused health personnel of negligence and Health Minister Joseph Kasonde has instituted investigations to establish what transpired.
We are talking about what happened on wednesday at KCH and not the number of nurses in hospitals. Your comment is misplaced.
This speaks volumes, we talking about what took place this week yo all run defending! i mean this tells me you all are guilty, be mature and stick to your guns suspend or fire those nurses admit this short coming without a “But”, it was wrong what they did and there’s no two ways about it, why cant you see sense in what people are lamenting about? i think they asked their nurses to act the way they did, next time shut up just clean your mess because commenting adds fuel to the fire!
Tembo you are foolish & stupid sana sana,we are talking of your nurses attitudes please not numbers be with your numbers kamone ka swine kuti waleka na kufumya umwefu obe ne bottle ya castle makaka!!!!!!!!!!!
It was explained that the expectant mother arrived late at the hospital and was attend to not that she was denied services.
In fact we must criminalize any form of abuse on health workers as they have been verbally mistreated and even physically assaulted.
Lets be civil
These ugly women even their hearts are as ugly as their faces ,who does not know them?They will only rush to help you when you have money.
I think the issue is whether there was negligence on the part of the Nurses ! The true issue is a proper refferal system which will ensure that women in labour only travel in ambulances accompanied by a Nurse ! They must not travel in private cars !
Labour takes roughly 10 hours from start to delivery. What was she doing at home all this time?
Do you have any knowledge about labour and all that a womans body go through? if not next time zip it! Next time when your girl friend or wife is ready to pop out one, make sure you dont miss any day with the gynacologist and buy a pile of those books on pregnancy, they you wont show this lack of knowledge anywhere ever!
You are a fool some of these things just learn to shut up at times ***** .Each labor story is unique.
Is that an absolute rule that labour takes 10 hours?Was this a normal labour or what we call a premature labour or a precipitate labour.Please stop defending wrong behaviour.Show compassion and not judgement towards the woman.Where are the ethics here?We the public expected an apology at least from the hospital authorities on the incidence.
1st stage of labour can take up to about 8 hrs for 1st pregnancy ant the 2nd stage can average 2hrs. 8+2=10 and so your estimate is justifiable. pipo need to be rebuked when they are wrong: why did this woman decide to by-pass the ndeke clinic near to her home?i thought govt put up such facilities in communities in order to avoid such incidences?u pipo should learn to avoid short-cuts coz they can be costly as was in this case.let this be a lesson to others.go to your clinics in your communities and wait for referal to hosp only if need arise.
Mr Know what have your call yourself ,Please grow up this woman gave birth at the hospital entrance so the 10 hours you are talking about is meaningless.That was total irresponsibility please do not defend people who are playing with human life.Think of it if it was your wife!
Wife, child, grand mother or enemy, right channels and procedures must be followed for the health system to function properly
Don’t defend and criticize for the sake of it. Just google the stages of labour and you will have your answer.
I think the Patients Charter states that both the health worker and patient have responsibilities ! It is two way ! That woman had a responsibility to go to the hospital early while the health workers a responsibilty to attend to her promptly ! Unfortunately , there are no Nurses stationed in the car park ( maybe the hospital authorities should now station one there ) !
I don’t know what the Union is up to,this is being unreasonable,otherwise something evn worse than that could happen agn if they’re mearnt not to realise their mistakes & faults by depending them…
Is that the official policy of the union to defend wrong beviour even before invatigating the incidence?
We the members of the public appreciate what the health workers are doing and sympathize with the current staaf shortages but we will not be taken for ride .We won’t settle for sub standard health care service delivery because of staff shortages .That’s pure nonsense.Just own and improve PERIOD!
avoid self-referals to the hospitals! this woman would have been attended to in good at the govt clinic just near her home in ndeke but she decided to ignore procedure and this is what happens.learn the lesson that such an incidence teaches all of us.KCH is for referal cases which cant be handled at the local clinics.u should be grateful that govt has even taken clinics closer to your commuinities. feel me?
Your comment is i.d.i.o.tic. It doesn’t matter how she ended up there. The fact is she was there. As a Zambian woman who had dealt with nurses and other health care professionals, if they can even be called that, in my child-bearing years I speak from experience of how people are treated in our hospitals and clinics. It’s one reason that makes me think twice about leaving the U.S. If only you could experience the quality of care here and the attitude of nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, you would have a different view of this matter.
Reader, it does matter how one ends up at any health facility. You cant handle a debate based on reasoning hence your use of insults in responding to my posting.You may be living in the USA but your understanding of healthcare issues both in the USA and zambia is still pathetic.
This whole debate borders on accountability… As much as we can talk about the responsibility of health workers, US the public also have a huge responsibility to make sure the system works. We have to to demand what is a minimum service and at the same time, in this case, the expectant mother MUST have taken the necessary steps as soon as she realised her labour had began. i wouldn’t entirely blame the health workers who are overwhelmed with work.
# Bee,No one is blaming the health workers.It is their attitude to the whole issue.The woman was already delivering at their premises.What did you want her to do.Drive back to the nearest clinic? They might have genuinely made the mistake but their response was to stop work and demonstrate?Common!
I concur. Let it be a lesson. KCH is indeed a referral hospital and not primary care. The woman is at fault as well.
This Bruno Tembo is an opposition politician. How for God’s sake can he be defending the indefensible. I am sure if it was his sister of wife who delivered in a car he would have been a lot happier. No wonder comedian Sinkala said Banzelu banachokako ku Chipata.
I still don’t understand when the hospital staff try to justify their inhuman actions by insisting on following the referral sytem.The issue here is the attitude of the health workers .Why not attend to the woman first and then counsel her later,it is as simple as that.If you justify your actions hen we better change the hospital from KCH to KSH( kITWE SLAUGHTER HOSPITAL)
Over 20 years ago my sister died at KCH after labour and her baby too. So this attitude is not new. And we wonder why we are backward.
@ sana and Robin,you seem to be *****s and have no knowledge on health issues. currently the patient- nurse ratio is 100 :1 but in the actual it should be 15:1, then wat do you want the nurse to do alone in the ward?blame the Gvt not the individuals you worthless *****s.think before you typ your nonsense.
You must be in the health sector your stats are too accurate. All those saying the nurse should have left other patients on the ward who where in labour too to go and deliver this woman in the car. Why didn’t the husband take her to the ward straight instead of leaving her in the car if she arrived at the hospital in time?
Kadobi!!!!!!!!!!!!! you are intelligent you understand issues……..
People lets not comment here and there..please lets get the facts of issues. Some of you you are just hearing the amplified story. us particularly on the copperbelt Kitwe to be specific know the story. Its unfortunate the reporter gave a bad report. And please don’t blame the midwives infact it was a nurse who attended to the same lady. Please to all expectant mothers make your way to the hospital ward in time not on time or else you will be another example
i’ve read thru all the comments with ectasy. lack of info is the base of all this problem. both the woman and some bloggers here need to go to sku to learn afew notes about labour. this woman was a grand-multiparous (more than 5 kids) so she had no excuse of not knowing how far she was. she wanted a short stay in hospital. each labor is different but can’t take less than 6 hours. even in precipitated labour it allows for time to travel to a safer place!
Nurses demostrated not becoz of what happened but bcoz of the media’s big and loud mouth with incorrect info. nurses work in wards, not in taxis or car parks. if you pass thru OPD now, there is only 1 nurse against alot of unthankful patients. you leave these patients its another case!
DON’T BRING SELF CREATED EMMERGENCIES TO…
You’re right ! The Midwives are stationed in the labour ward and the patients have to arrive there ! Additionally , I think most bloggers here are not familiar with the layout of that hospital ! There are two out patient points which recieve patients ! OPD 1 which runs 24 hours a day (and handles all emergencies ) and OPD 2 ( for Specialist clinics ) which runs from 8 to 16 Monday to Friday and handles mostly those coming for reviews ! This lady arrived at the OPD 2 entrance before 8hrs hence the delay because all the porters were in the other side in OPD 1 ( which runs 24 hours and handles emergencies ) ! Therefore , it was more of a communication breakdown rather than negligence !
Why defend erring prostitutes,, bitches and the like?
FOR SOMEONE TO DELIVER IN A CAR PARK THEN DEFINITELY SOMETHING WENT WRONG ! NO ONE IS DENYING THAT ! THE BURNING QUESTION IS ” WHAT WENT WRONG ? ” IF SOME INDIVIDUALS WERE NEGLIGENT, THEY WILL BE PUNISHED ! IF NOT , THEN IT IS A FAILURE OF THE SYSTEM AND NOT INDIVIDUALS ! LET THEM CONCLUDE THE INVESTIGATIONS AND COME UP WITH THE ANSWERS ! MIND YOU THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS TYPE OF THING HAS HAPPENED IN ZAMBIA ! AT UTH IT HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES ( IE PEOPLE FAILING TO REACH THE LABOUR WARD BEFORE DELIVERY ) !THESE WERE NOT REPORTED COS THERE WAS NO DC CALLED TO BRING ZNBC TO THE SCENE !
BUT REMEMBER THE PICTURES IN THE POST WHICH LED TO A POST JOURNALIST BEING TAKEN TO COURT BY THE MMD ? THAT LADY WAS NOT EVEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE IN A CAR ! ! !
Emotions aside KCH staff!My question has not been answered.
WHAT WAS THE WOMAN SUPPOSED TO DO WHEN SHE WAS ALREADY IN AN ADVANCED STAGE OF LABOUR?I MENTIONED IT ABOVE ,THEY MIGHT HAVE GENUINELY MADE THE MISTAKE ,BUT 2 WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT.WHAT WAS SHE SUPPOSED TO DO?I NEED A RESPONSE FROM A MIDWIFE,IN ADVANCED STAGE OF LABOUR,WHAT WERE THE OPTIONS PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION!
in advanced 2nd stage of labor there are on options. She was suppose to be rushed for help!! KCH is vast such that an emmergency in a park means nothing to those in the wards. NO NURSES REFUSED TO ATTEND TO HER!!! ACTUALLY A NURSE CAME AFTERWARDS BCOZ THAT WAS THE TIME SHE WAS INFORMED, LATE. nurses are not angels,they are just humans like you.
You guys, there is no one who would let a patient deliver from a car. These midwives you are insulting work like donkeys day in and day out. show them respect.
Most of you passed through there hands when you were being born. where you neglected?
Some of you if you were to work as health personnels your can be fared @ once due to you behaviour . It is only that your jobs are not open to the public and your incompetences are not seen, otherwise you are pathetic.
Yes blame the fools who are spending colossal sums of money on buying criminal MPs to settle scores at the expense of recruiting nurses and other developmental projects , more of this type of occurrences will continue to happen as long as the country is led grade 2s and educated thieves like Nchito,M’meembe,Nkole ,Kabimba etc
Thank you # 36 Snr Midwife for answer.I appreciate your answer.Keep on doing the good work.God bless you.
@Red square: thanks and you are welcome. our work my dear very delicate. no wonder pipo greet women after delivery at “mwapusukeni”. we save millions but 1 mistake from a care-free woman makes the unthanks souls to scream foul.
God will always guide our good works
Snr. Midwife???? Either you were promoted too soon or you are a self proclaimed midwife! On my 3rd pregnancy, labour started once and for all around 10am i delivered at 12 20hrs.. just 2 and 1/2hrs later. I live in Chelston and a known hypertensive patient… should i have still gone to Chelston/Chainama clinic because its nearer only to be referred to UTH later?(Levy General didn’t exist). At the UTH reception i was helped by some staff can’t remember whether nurse or cleaner or receptionist, but someone helped. There were several mothers in the queue at the labour ward, but the Doctor immediately attended to me it was an emergency! ba Snr. Midwife… nursing is a calling as espoused by Nightingale, unfortunately today, it is a just job to earn 2nd class school leavers an income!