MAJOR Clinics in Livingstone are currently faced with a shortage of manpower after the Government fired more than 40 nurses and other health workers from various clinics in the tourist capital.
And a source, who declined to be named, told said that operations at Maramba and Dambwa clinics in Livingstone were temporally closed last week following the dismissing of nurses and other health workers.
Civil Servants Union of Zambia (CSUZ) Livingstone District chairperson Saidah Siachifuwe said major clinics such as Maramba, Libuyu and Dambwa were currently faced with a serious shortage of manpower following the dismissal of more than 40 nurses and other health workers in addition to those fired from Livingstone General Hospital.
Mr Siachifuwe said in an interview yesterday that service delivery in Livingstone clinics was severely hampered as Classified Daily Employees (CDEs) were being used to carry out professional work.
“The situation in our major clinics is very bad because about 43 nurses and other health workers were dismissed for participating in an illegal strike recently.
We have to use CDEs to do professional work and this kind of work is very risky especially to patients,” Mr Siachifuwe said.
He said the most unfortunate thing was that even a large number of clinical officers were also fired including some union leaders.
“We have two union leaders who were also dismissed. These are people who were even appealing to nurses to go back to work but unfortunately they have been dismissed too,” Mr Siachifuwe said.
He said the dismissal of Health Workers Union of Zambia (HWUZ) Livingstone chairperson David Katembo and CSUZ Livingstone secretary Loveness Mukuwa amounted to victimisation as the two were merely representing workers.
Mr Siachifuwe complained that the number of clinical officers dismissed was large regarding that the district already had a shortage of staff.
He appealed to President Michael Sata to forgive the nurses and reinstate them to save lives in medical institutions.
“My appeal, just like our national union leaders have already said, is that President Sata must quickly do something because the situation in these clinics is not healthy. Let the President forgive these people so that we can offer quality health care,” Mr Siachifuwe said.
Meanwhile, the source said yesterday that operations at Maramba and Dambwa clinics in Livingstone were temporally closed last week following the dismissing of nurses and other health workers.
A check at most clinics revealed that only few nurses and other health workers were found working.
ANd you think Sata’s Govt will care. Just revert back to traditional medicine and healers. And pray that you do not need surgery! at least for next two and half years!
My Chair, in the union we do not say ” for participating in illegal strike’? we say for “allergy illegal” strike in which our nurses who were just asking for what belonged and promised to them.
Unionist ni dye hard. We shall meet in our meetings here in Lusaka ba boss nalamusoka
only an 1diot would fire his maid for asking to be paid a minimum wage knowing very well that there is no replacement to be taking care of the house chores she has been doing
Voting for sata was a deathly experiment
Zambians cried for a born and God gave us the same!
Mwana akalila bonzo!
This is the change you wanted! Please enjoy it! I know some people will Insult me but remember the vote you cast!
No gooda from a man who got a degree in 3 weeks! @ President my foot!
A govt of a-holes and matha-effers together with all dimwits that will proceed to spew nonsense in support of the worst government in the history of this beautiful country.
What is this wicked government up to? They want to fight nurses at the expense of innocent poor lives? This useless fight is not in the best interest of the public!
Pf cadres are you sure these things happening are normal to you?we understand you worship sata but are you serious,people are dying and your celebrating that what the president is doing is right…God forgive your souls.
Bone…
Sata, the most useless president Africa has ever seen (save Idi Amin) and will ever see.
Ba ZUNO should be fired also!
There is nothing to ask for forgiveness for here!
The truth is that ZUNO leadership is full of cowards and it is clear they have no understanding of what their role is! They are in it for their bellies!
Just fire everybody if this is what it has come to.
PF will surely pay!
We, through our Government, fired nurses for engaging in an illegal strike. Now that patients continue to die unnecessarily due to the firing of nurses, who should be held responsible for the deaths??? It is we, and our government, who should be held responsible for the deaths. Full stop.
Ooohhhh, I almost forgot….the VP told us that there was no shortage even after firing a large number of nurses. Were these excess staff?? If we have excess, let us then stop the rhetoric and devise strategies to export surplus nurses for the good of Zambia….just as BSA did in Barotseland through WENELA. Nurses would get jobs while Zambia would earn foreign exchange from officially arranged remittances. Learn from Eritrea and others. Open your eyes.