Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Lesotho Nurses Association (LNA) has expressed their grievances over their outstanding demands which remain unmet by the Ministry of Health (MoH).
The MoH has come under fire from the association owing to its alleged “laxity” to meet their demands during the pandemic. In a strongly worded statement issued by the LNA, the association charges the Ministry to ensure the
availability of sufficient Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to its members and that the ministry pays the outstanding salaries of its members. Some nurses
are said to be in their three months without receiving their salaries. The association also decry the working conditions of its members, it argues that those who are working in
isolation centres are no longer quarantined at the designated quarantine facilities as before “to break the circle of infection” but have to quarantine
in their homes, a move which according to LNA “expose their families at risk of [being] infected”. Some of the association’s grievances are that in some health facilities there is no water and
electricity. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the portable water as one of the tools to fight the spread of the pandemic since
one of the preventive controls of this fatal virus is regular washing of hands with running water in order to maintain hygiene. The association further
accuses the MoH over lack of training to some of the nurses which it argues had not undergone Infection Prevention Control (IPC) training. “It has come into our
attention that the second wave of Covid-19 has hitted so hard especially in our fellow nurses whereby there is a record of more than fifty health care workers
infected to date. This rings a louder bell in our ears as LNA because our mandate is to Care for carers to stand up and look for the loose holes. This
has mandated us to go back on drawing board which was agreed on between us and the government of Lesotho in regard with protection of Nurses and Nursing
assistants while on duty,” reads the association’s statement in pertinent part. The statement further says, “… LNA feels the need to come to the public and plea with the government
of Lesotho through its ministers responsible in all issues or matters raised above that the government shall act accordingly and provide all that they
promised to the health personnel. “The government must start now to act and show support to the nurses as this will help in reducing the numbers which seemed to be increasing in this second wave of Covid[-19] and its
mortality. This will also help nurses to protect the Basotho Nation who are now at very greater risk of being infected with Covid-19…. ” The attempts to get the
reaction from the Ministry of Health (MoH) failed as the Minister, Deputy Minister, and the Director General of Health Services did not answer their phones.
The Principal Secretary said he is unable to issue a comment as he is on leave. The Minister of Health Hon. Motlatsi Maqelepo had promised that his ministry will make a high impact
on delivery owing to many donations and support it receives from the donors and development partners. This the Minster had said in October last year during the
launch of Bophelo-ka-Mosebetsi, which is a web-based app tailored for Village Health Workers (VHW) for monitoring and surveillance of COVID-19 suspects at
the community levels. Asked for comment, also the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Tumisang Mokoai said he was not aware of the LNA statement.
At the time of going to the print he had not reverted to this publication. Lesotho is said to be experiencing the second wave of the COVID-19. It is among the 11 countries of
the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that the United Kingdom (UK) had slapped with the entry ban for two weeks from entering their country owing
to the new variant identified in South Africa. “Entry into England will be banned to those who have travelled from or through any southern African country in the last 10 days, including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique and Angola – as well as Seychelles and Mauritius,” the country’s Department for Transport said.
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