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DOCTORS across the country have been on strike since 3 September pressing for an upward review of salaries and an improvement to their working conditions but a special breed of medical practitioners at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo has been reporting for duty despite the industrial action by their colleagues. 

In a rare show of patriotism, dedication to duty and commitment to their craft, a total of 144 doctors out of a staff complement of 204 have been attending to patients at the referral centre which services the southern region of the country encompassing the two Matabeleland provinces, Bulawayo, the Midlands and Masvingo. 

Doctors are bound by the Hippocratic Oath which enjoins them to put their patients first and the group of doctors at Mpilo is staying true to the covenant they made when they embarked on their medical journey. We salute their compassion and professionalism which has saved thousands of lives which might otherwise have been lost due to the ongoing strike. 

Mpilo serves the poor and ordinary people who cannot afford the exorbitant fees charged by private hospitals and surgeries and we shudder what could have befallen expectant mothers, accident victims and other patients with life threatening ailments had the institution’s doctors decided to down their stethoscopes. 

While we appreciate the challenging working conditions of medical practitioners in this country and their salaries which are continually getting eroded by inflation, we feel Government has gone out of its way to meet the striking doctors half way by hiking their allowances to cushion them against the rising cost of living. 

Government last month awarded doctors in public health institutions a 60 percent salary increment with senior doctors pocketing between $8 000 and $11 000 monthly in salaries and allowances while junior doctors were set to pocket slightly less. 

Doctors were first awarded a 30 percent increment on health sector specific allowances such as night duty, on-call and special health allowances, before Government raised the offer to 60 percent. Other allowances such as locum rates for doctors, nurses and paramedics and uniform allowances have been increased four-fold while residency allowances were raised to $500 from $250. Government is battling to meet competing demands on its dwindling Treasury purse and has been negotiating with civil servants under the aegis of its umbrella body – the Apex Council. It has committed to pay a bonus this month and improve the salaries of its workers as and when the national purse allows. 

However, despite a willingness by the majority of the civil service to give the negotiation process a chance and continue offering their services, doctors have been intransigent with their leadership in the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association adopting a confrontational stance with the Government. As a result, their employer has commenced disciplinary proceedings against some of their members who have not been reporting for duty since the strike began. The situation could have been totally different had they continued reporting for work while negotiations with Government progressed. Doctors are duty bound to put the interests of their patients first and medical practitioners at Mpilo have shown the way. 

Their Clinical Director, Dr Solwayo Ngwenya, told our sister paper, Sunday News at the weekend that he was pleased with the dedication and patriotism shown by a majority of his staff. 

“I am proud of the doctors and other staff at Mpilo. About 71 percent of doctors across all grades are at work. We have eight who are on leave and 52 doctors who are on strike. While we cannot operate as smoothly as we would wish, we are still able to attend to everyone who comes to the hospital. We attend to over 200 patients every day. We have 600 patients admitted to various wards and they are all getting medical care. 

“We have the maternity wing operating fully and we deliver about 30 babies a day with about 10 deliveries through caesarean operations. This should tell you that we are really doing our best under the circumstances. Whether the doctors who are at work are happy or not is neither here nor there. What is important is that they are dedicated to their work and are on the ground helping people. 

“The problem is that they constantly get threats from some quarters over why they did not join the strike, but we have taken a stance as an institution that we should be here helping our people as not everyone can afford private doctors or private hospitals. Imagine a granny bitten by a snake or crocodile in Lupane, where would she go? We don’t want people to sell their cows and goats because they need medical services. Let those who go to private institutions go there out of their own free will,” said Dr Ngwenya. 

We are also proud of the doctors at Mpilo and urge them to continue exhibiting a strong commitment to duty and service to their community. Their selflessness will be rewarded in due course.