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Elita Chikwati, Harare Bureau

GOVERNMENT has secured US$1 million for the procurement of essential medicines and equipment needed in public hospitals.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo told our Harare Bureau yesterday that the Ministry had also made arrangements with some companies to get medical supplies and pay through RTGs as part of efforts to ensure pharmacies are well stocked and medicines and surgical supplies are available.

This will also ensure doctors work in a conducive environment.

Dr Moyo dismissed claims of a strike by senior doctors at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.

 He said he met the doctors who raised concern mainly to do with lack of resources for use at the workplace.

“Doctors have not gone on strike as alleged by some circles of the media. Senior doctors are at work. We had a meeting with them and they raised their concerns that included shortages of surgical supplies.

“They do not have adequate supplies and said the number of cases that they can attend is reduced. I was happy to meet them and they were also happy because they had met with their management at Parirenyatwa Hospital yesterday (Tuesday) where they had discussed issues regarding shortages of supplies especially gloves. Surgeons indicated to management problems that they are facing and those can be resolved,” he said.

Dr Moyo said every health care worker should have ownership of the Ministry.

“We have already set up various committees like a health assembly that includes consultants and all nursing staff. The health assembly has to meet on continuous basis and come up with solutions to the problems within the Ministry such as drug supply, equipment, medicines and work conditions.

“This is the approach that we are working on. We want everyone to work as one team. We have managed to secure from the Ministry of Finance US$1 million. We want to get a team of the end users to make determinations on what should be purchased,” he said.

Dr Moyo said there were concerns at Parirenyatwa hospital that end users were not being consulted on what should be purchased.

He urged the concerned personnel to work with administrators so they buy appropriate and needed essentials especially during this time of foreign currency shortages.

Dr Moyo said the administrators will handle the money and get all the various players to choose what to buy.