Doctors strike disaster: Unattended patients die

BULAWAYO - FOUR patients at Mpilo Central Hospital died yesterday within two hours of each other as the three-week strike by junior doctors begins to take its toll although hospital authorities downplayed the incident.

"As of today (yesterday), I have only received reports that four patients died between 8am and 10am and with Mpilo being a huge hospital with about a thousand patients, the deaths of four patients is not quite bad, as there can be 10 to 20 deaths a day," clinical director Wedu Ndebele was quoted saying.

"However, the available medical officers are trying their best to contain the situation, as the number of deaths is low."

The strike has seen the number of admissions dropping from close to 1 000 to just over 200.

Ndebele said the senior doctors available were only dealing with critical and emergency cases.

Officials at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) said army and police doctors were assisting the regular medical officers.

However, reports indicate that there are only five army and police doctors in Bulawayo, a number far short of the requirements of the two referral hospitals, Mpilo and UBH.

Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors' Association (ZHDA) secretary-general Farai Makoni insisted that the government and President Robert Mugabe should find a solution to the ongoing strike.

"We had a meeting with the Health ministry and the Health Services Board (HSB), as they were giving us the details on the progress of the negotiations," he said.

"We urge the government and the president to find an urgent solution to forestall the continued suffering of people who need hospital services."

A request by the doctors to meet Mugabe has not yet been granted.

Makoni said nothing concrete had come out of their meeting with Health and Child Care permanent secretary Gerald Gwinji.

"We were advised that the Cabinet will deliberate on our issues and we expect the responses by end of day," he said.

"Unfortunately the strike will continue until advised otherwise."

Sources who attended the meeting said it lasted less than 15 minutes.

Gwinji could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone went unanswered.

The striking junior doctors are not backing down on their demand of an upward review of their salaries from $282 to $1 200 per month excluding allowances and also free accommodation at government-owned flats and duty-free car imports.