FEAR gripped government yesterday forcing discussions with striking junior doctors as well as consultants and senior health practitioners, who on Friday issued a 48-hour-ultimatum, NewsDay can reveal.
The ultimatum expired last night.
It also emerged that the crisis meetings took place for the better part of yesterday between the Health Service Board (HSB) and a task force was set up by the Zimbabwe Medical Association (Zima) to mediate between the State and medical personnel.
HSB vice-chairperson Auxillia Chideme-Munodawafa and Zima president Francis Chawora, flanked by taskforce chairperson Christopher Samkange as well as other officials, addressed a presser on the new developments.
Following Acting President Constantino Chiwenga’s decision to fire over 550 junior doctors last week, it emerged that government had gone ahead and recruited final year students, some whose results were yet to be known, sources told NewsDay.
“It smacks of insincerity because on one hand, government has indicated it wants to talk, but on the other, it has gone ahead and recruited hordes of final year students, some of whom have actually failed. The results are yet to be known, but government already has a deployment list of the interns, who are supposed to replace the junior doctors whom the State reportedly fired last week,” one source said.
Another source said there were meetings throughout yesterday to try and find a solution to the impasse with a view to keeping especially senior doctors on the job and forestall a crisis.
“There have been meetings the whole of today (yesterday) and the Zimbabwe Medical Association leadership has been locked up with senior government officials in a bid to thrash
out a compromise.
