The Minister of Health and Childcare, Dr Obadiah Moyo, has commended the health staff at Chitungwiza Central Hospital for defying the national industrial action recently embarked on by health personnel in other central hospitals.
Dr Moyo said this Wednesday while addressing 150 graduates and stakeholders in the health services profession during the 2019 Chitungwiza Central Hospital graduation ceremony.
The 150 nurses who graduated were drawn from various disciplines: 78 state registered nurses, 47 midwives and 25 clinical officers.
Said Dr Moyo: “At this juncture I would like to thank the chief executive officer, Dr Enock Mayida, and his team, the hospital management board, consultants, and all health workers for attending to their work commitments when others are on industrial action.
“When I came for a hospital tour at Chitungwiza Central Hospital, all the work was going on smoothly and patients were being served. I, therefore, urge you to keep up the good work you are doing.”
Minister Moyo, who is the past chief executive officer of the hospital, urged those who graduated to adhere to ethical standards in discharging their duties.
“It is a long road that these young men and women have walked to this day and I can assure you that the knowledge that these graduates have acquired during their period of training has changed them and made them professionals that will stand up to help their country,” said Dr Moyo.
“Now as you go out there to look after the sick, please adhere to the ethics and moral standards of your profession that you have been taught over the years by your able tutors. Resist the temptation to fall into corruption of any kind. Your job is to treat your patients to the best your ability,” he said.
Government, said Dr Moyo, is making frantic efforts to make sure that those who graduated are absorbed into employment, adding that there are continued efforts to make sure all striking doctors get back to work.
Dr Moyo took a swipe at political parties that demonstrated at Mpilo Hospital over the increased number of Shona students who were recruited at the institution.
Zapu, a few days ago demonstrated citing the side-lining of students from Matebeleland region, but Dr Moyo indicated that the e-recruitment exercise being used to recruit student nurses does not discriminate on regional grounds.
He added that the exercise came through recommendations from Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to weed out corruption during recruitment adding that there are many students from Matebeleland who were accepted in other provinces.
He said the e-recruitment is not a regional exercise but a national one and every Zimbabwean can train at any health facility.
Dr Mayida hailed Dr Moyo for transforming the institution which is the only ISO certified public hospital in the country. He said through the vision spearheaded by Dr Moyo, the hospital will soon transform into a five-star hospital.
The hospital, he added, plans to construct a new maternity ward as the current one is overwhelmed by the high number of patients who are referred from various areas of Zimbabwe.
He thanked his staff for working as a united front at a time when staff at other hospitals have embarked on industrial action.
