Times Of Swaziland: ASISEBENTI, NURSES TELL PATIENTS

ASISEBENTI, NURSES TELL PATIENTS
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BY SIBUSISO SHANGE on 06/09/2018 23:27:00


MBABANE – ‘We are not working’ is what many patients heard from nurses at
the Mbabane Government Hospital.
When the hospital was visited at around 10am on Wednesday, there were long
queues of patients awaiting treatment. however, they were told to seek services
at the pharmacies as the nurses were not prepared to attend to them.
“Asisebenti lamuhla (we are not working today),” this reporter was told in
one of the consultation rooms. Most of the patients received the same message
after paying for the cards at the Out Patient Department.
Upon visit to the OPD, the nurses were found in a meeting in one of the
conference rooms, with some of them seated outside the conference room.
The situation was monitored by the Royal Eswatini Police Service under the
Intelligence Bureau Department (IB).
The patients negotiated for refunds after they were turned back at the
consultation rooms. However, they were not given their money back.
One of the patients said, “Batsi thathile thathile (they say there are no
refunds as the ticket expire after seven days.”
“It’s high time government recruits nurses from the army so that they can
take over. Any civil servant can go on strike but not nurses. I think the
primary duty for nurses is to save lives, so who is saving lives if they decide
to go on strike,” said one of the aggrieved patients who was at the hospital
to extract a tooth.
The patient was among those who tried to reason with Comfort Shongwe at the
Dental Care Department.
“I can only do one favour, that is to prescribe medication to relieve your
pain, otherwise I am not going to extract any tooth today. In order for us to
attend to patients, there should be an involvement of nurses and ex-rays. This
process requires medication, so what can I give you?” asked Shongwe before
collecting the tickets from the patients.
When Shongwe left with the tickets, the patients were of the view that he would
extract their teeth and prescribe the medication. They gathered at the door but
when Shongwe returned, he gave them back their cards and advised that they
should go to the pharmacies to buy the prescribed medications.
The patients were grateful for what Shongwe did. “This man is a problem
solver, he doesn’t want to see people frustrated. We appreciate the
prescription,” they said. Some patients were not content when turned back.
They claimed that they arrived at the hospital as early as 5am but nobody
informed them about the proposed strike.
In some wards, doctors were attending to patients.
Also turned back at the hospital were inmates who were brought to the
institution by the officers from His Majesty’s Correctional Services.
Normally, inmates are given preference, however, they were the first to learn
that nurses were not ready to attend to them.
“They just told us that they are not working today,” said the warder who was
turned back at the Dental Care Unit.
Notably, the patients who were at the hospital to collect or refill their
medication were attended to. These included those who were treated for diabetes
among other diseases.