The Sunday News
THE Health Services Board has called on Government to review the country’s nurse establishment to align it with the growing national population as well as the increasing need for health services in the country.
Speaking to Sunday News last week, Health Services Board public relations executive Mr Nyasha Maravanyika revealed that the nurse establishment was last reviewed in 1983.
Mr Maravanyika said there was a possibility that over the past 30 years the country’s population as well as number of health institutions might have outgrown the present nurse establishment, hence the need to review it.
“There is a need to revisit the establishment. We have had the same establishment for the past 30 years yet we have built more hospitals and clinics, and the population has also grown. So there is a great need to have a look at the establishment vis-a-vis the number of institutions and the nurse-to-patient ratio.
“We have to make sure we achieve a nurse-patient ratio that guarantees quality service to patients and not a situation where one nurse might be overburdened with the number of patients they should attend to,” he said.
Mr Maravanyika, however, pointed out that the process of reviewing of the country’s nurses establishment hinged on the availability of resources.
He said in as much as the Health Services Board envisaged to have the nurse establishment reviewed and more nurses recruited, the decision rested with Government.
“Right now we have been given the green light to recruit nurses but the number may not fulfill the required establishment that meets our needs as a country. In as much as we might be calling for the establishment to be reviewed, there is a need to look at Government’s capacity to accommodate the kind of establishment we desire.
“Availability of resources is a major issue which we have to look at first,” said Mr Maravanyika.
Government recently lifted a freeze on 630 health workers posts but the Health Services Board, mandated with the recruitment of health staff is still waiting for a green light from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development before it starts filling vacant posts.
Minister of Health and Child Care Dr David Parirenyatwa announced in August this year, that Government had lifted the embargo on recruitment of nurses as it seeks to augment the country’s depleted health staff.
However, delays by treasury to release funds needed for salaries of the recruited health workers have stalled the process.
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.
The last intake to be employed was the A 2010 intake which graduated last year and only a few nurses from this intake are still to be employed. The recent lifting of the freeze on nursing posts is expected to absorb a substantial number of nurses from intakes B 2010 and C 2010 who also graduated last year.
The Health Services Board is also on record decrying delays by Treasury to approve the filling of vacant posts in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, a situation the board says has resulted in severe shortages of critical staff in Government health institutions. Some health institutions in the country, particularly those in rural areas, are reportedly operating without adequate medical staff as the board is not able to quickly replace staff that would have left service for various reasons.
