Harare- Zimbabwe’s deteriorating health sector situation has been worsened as senior doctors announced that they are no longer able to cope with the situation

In a memorandum to the country’s major referral hospitals and the Ministry of Health and Child Care the senior doctors said they have been overwhelmed by the workload and are no longer confident of discharging their duties owing to the industrial action and subsequent suspension of junior doctors.

“Following the continued industrial action by the junior doctors and their subsequent suspension we the senior registrars have become overwhelmed by the workload and are no longer confident we can discharge our duties properly without compromising both our and patient’s safety” read the memorandum

“Our work involves working as a team and so if the other crucial part is missing, then we are all rendered useless. We share the same grievances as our juniors that of the need for a cost of living adjustments, need for uninterrupted availability of essential drugs and sundries and the need to address the vehicle status of all doctors. We have resolved therefore as a group to protect our patients and ourselves to withdraw our services until an agreement is reached”

Efforts by Government to negotiate and bring the doctors back to work have on several times hit the brick wall with Vice President Chiwenga claiming that the striking doctors are negotiating in bad faith.

“Government is disturbed by the fact that in spite of the many concessions made to the striking doctors and the broad agreement reached on all but two issues the striking health personnel continue to withhold their labour and negotiate in bad faith even when they are designated as an essential service under the Labour act” VP Chiwenga said