Wednesday, January 20, 2021
  • About Us
  • ImagiNATION
  • Adverts
  • Rate Card
  • Contact Us
The Nation Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Editors Pick

Staff shortage cripples health delivery at Qech

by JONATHAN PASUNGWI
05/09/2018
in Editors Pick, National News
2 min read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on LinkedinLinkedinShare via Email

Shortage of health personnel has crippled service delivery at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Qech) in Blantyre following a boycott over unpaid allowances by some nurses who are on temporary contracts.

A visit to some of the wards at the hospital by The Nation on Sunday and Monday also established that there were few medical workers in most of the wards, including wards 5B and 6A, which had only one nurse on duty each.

RelatedHeadlines

Low savings rate, a loss to consumers

Inside Malawi’s new vision

Consider the poor on Covid-19 measures—Nankhumwa

Queens ward | The Nation Online
Patients lie in the corridors of Qech in this file photo

For instance, during the visit to Ward 5B, which is a female surgical zone, a single nurse was attending to about 52 patients.

According to some nurses we interviewed, temporary health workers who are diploma holders are getting K20 000 while those with degrees pocket K50 00 per month, but the hospital management is failing to pay them on time.

The nurses, who spoke on condition of strict anonymity, added that this is what has compelled them to boycott their duties, with some joining the ongoing Population and Housing Census being conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) as enumerators.

When contacted on Sunday, Qech administrator Themba Mhango refused to comment on the matter, saying he was on leave.

But in an interview, Ministry of Health (MoH) spokesperson Joshua Malango said Qech, like any other referral hospital, arranges payments for its contracted nurses, who work on voluntary basis, through Treasury funds that come in form of Other Recurrent Transactions (ORTs).

Malango, however, admitted salary delays in July, attributing the problem to Treasury funding hiccups.

He implicitly admitted the shortage of staff but he attributed the development to a recent recruitment of health workers by the government through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

Said Malango: “[Probably] this shortage can be because government through the Local Government Service Commission has employed a number of nurses who were previously on upkeep and they have since been deployed to different district hospitals across the country.

“Now most of those who were on upkeep are the ones who have been offered fulltime jobs in various government hospitals and maybe that is why there might be such gaps.

He added that government will soon recruit about 1 000 health workers to boost human resource capacity in referral and other public health facilities countywide.

On his part, Malawi Health Equity Network (Mhen) executive director George Jobe wondered why some hospitals are failing to pay upkeep allowances to health personnel who are crucial in promoting the health status of citizens.

He also faulted the government for delaying employment of the 1 000 medical workers as indicated in the 2018/19 financial budget.

Previous Post

SA responds to Bushiri harassment protests

Next Post

Nankhumwa addresses rally in Mpemba

Related Posts

savings | The Nation Online
Business News

Low savings rate, a loss to consumers

January 20, 2021
chakwera 20633 | The Nation Online
Political Index Feature

Inside Malawi’s new vision

January 20, 2021
Nankhumwa: Do more to cushion Malawians’ suffering
National News

Consider the poor on Covid-19 measures—Nankhumwa

January 20, 2021
Next Post
Extended an olive branch: Nankhumwa

Nankhumwa addresses rally in Mpemba

Trending Stories

  • Kenani: We cannot just watch the house burning

    Covid-19 initiative raises K18.3m in 2 days

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Tonse faulted on former presidents’ benefits

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Fake injury claims soar

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Doctors sound SOS on health workers

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Csec, Isama want clarity on schools’ closure

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Opinions and Columns

My Thought

Don’t relax, Covid-19 still here

January 17, 2021
Political Uncensored

Maddening chaotic virus

January 17, 2021
Emily Mkamanga

Chakwera has to instill unity

January 17, 2021
People’s Tribunal

Perilous times and the need for accountability

January 17, 2021
  • Values
  • Our Philosophy
  • Editorial policy
  • Advertising Policy
  • Code of Conduct
  • Plagiarism disclaimer
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use

© 2021 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Life & Style
    • Every Woman
      • Soul
      • Family
    • Religion
    • Feature
  • Society
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Chichewa
  • Enation

© 2020 Nation Publications Limited. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.