The Sunday News
THE Health Services Board is still waiting for the go-ahead from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development before it starts filling vacant health workers’ posts, almost three months after the Government lifted a ban on recruitment, Sunday News has learnt.
Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr David Parirenyatwa announced in August this year, that Government had lifted the embargo on the recruitment of nurses as it seeks to improve the country’s depleted health staff.
At least 630 health workers are set be absorbed into the system following the lifting of the ban on the posts.
However, delays by Treasury to release funds needed for salaries of the recruited health workers have stalled the process.
Health Services Board chairperson, Dr Lovemore Mbengerwanwa could neither confirm nor deny the developments and referred all questions to the board’s executive director, Ms Ruth Kaseke who was not answering her mobile phone for the whole of last week.
“From a policy point of view the posts are unfrozen and I have not been updated on the latest progress that has been made. Of course there are logistical problems here and there but I’m sure a lot of ground has been covered. Why don’t you talk to the executive director, she will give you the latest developments,” he said.
The board’s public relations executive, Mr Nyasha Maravanyika, however, told Sunday News on Friday last week that the board had, in August written to Treasury seeking a go ahead to fill the vacant posts but was yet to get a response.
Mr Maravanyika said the Health Services board would fill in the vacant posts as soon as Treasury availed the funds.
“There are 630 posts that need to be filled in the health sector, but we are yet to get concurrence from Treasury. We wrote a letter to them on 7 August but we have not yet been replied. We are just waiting on them before we go ahead with implementing the policy pronouncement.
“The process to recruit health workers is ongoing and as soon as we get the necessary funds we will fill in the posts that have been unfrozen.
“It should be noted that we may not necessarily fill in all the 630 posts at once, but in batches depending on how much Treasury would have released,” he said.
Mr Maravanyika went on to explain that the 630 posts that were unfrozen were not necessarily for nurses only but included promotions and other health staff in other departments in the health sector who will also be absorbed into the system.
“When those things are being said it would appear as if the unfrozen posts are for nurses. The posts were unfrozen for the entire health sector which covers environmental health workers, nutritionists, radiologists and others. So the number of nurses to be recruited might actually be less than 630,” he said.
Delays by the Health Services Board to fill the 630 nursing posts has created anxiety among nursing graduates who were hoping to be employed.
Sources at the Health Services Board said the last intake to be employed was the A2010, which graduated last year.
Only a few of this intake, the source said, were still to be employed, with the recent lifting of the ban on recruitment likely to absorb a substantial number of nurses from intakes B2010 and C2010 who also graduated last year.
The Health Service Board, spokesperson added that there was a need for the Government to revisit the nurses establishment that was last reviewed in 1983.
“When we say we are recruiting nurses, we need to ask ourselves if we are fulfilling the establishment of nurses that was last reviewed some 30 years ago.
“There is a need to review the establishment vis-a-vis the number of health institutions in the country. But we have to look at the Government’s capacity to accommodate the kind of establishment that we desire,” he said.
No comment could be obtained from the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Cde Patrick Chinamasa as his mobile phone was not reachable before going for print.
Early this year, the Health Services Board decried delays by Treasury to approve the filling of vacant posts in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, a situation the board said had resulted in severe shortages of critical staff in Government health institutions.
Health Services Board director-in-charge of human resources, Ms Nornah Zhou, said the delays in approving appointments, coupled with the ban imposed on promotions and vacant nurses’ posts had made the situation dire.
Ms Zhou said some health institutions in the country, particularly those in rural areas, were operating without adequate medical staff as the board was not able to quickly replace staff that would have left service for various reasons.
It is estimated that the country has more than 2 500 qualified nurses who are unemployed and the recent lifting of the ban would only take the figure down to just under 2 000 qualified unemployed health workers.
