DON’T FALL SICK AFTER HOURS THIS FESTIVE

MBABANE – EmaSwati who will require emergency services in public health facilities during the festive holidays are in for a shock.

This follows a threat by doctors in these hospitals to down tools over their unpaid on-call allowances. The doctors said they would not be available to be on-call and standby, meaning they would work normal working hours. The country has four major hospitals; Mbabane Government Hospital, Hlatikhulu Government Hospital, Mankayane Government Hospital and Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital. Claims for the allowances were submitted by the doctors about three months ago, but to date, they are still being processed by government, something that the doctors viewed as a deliberate move to frustrate them.

Payment

Following a minute from the Ministry of Health Principal Secretary (PS), Khanya Mabuza, informing them about the delay in the payment of on-call and standby allowances, the doctors have responded in anger. The memorandum written by the PS and directed to the senior medical officers was issued on Wednesday. In a letter leaked to this publication, the healthcare workers stated that they did not accept the minute’s contents. The correspondence in part reads; “All medical personnel participating in on-call and standby duties do not accept the contents of this minute.”

The healthcare workers stated that payment of the on-call and standby allowances for April to September 2023 period was expected to be paid together with their December salaries. The doctors said failure to honour the aforementioned would force all medical personnel to immediately cease all on-call and standby duties in all affected facilities. The on-call committee, acting under the instruction of the healthcare personnel, further requested a meeting with the PS’s office, before the end of business yesterday. The meeting was granted.

In an interview, a source who preferred to remain anonymous, said the director of health, under secretary, financial controller, chief nursing officer and others, met with the on-call committee. The source stated that it was reported that claim forms were currently stuck with the Ministry of Public Service, which was causing delays in the payment of their allowances. According to the source, they were also told by the Ministry of Health authorities that confirmation was received that consent to pay the on-call and standby allowances would be out today.

Furthermore, they were told that the claims needed to be returned to the Ministry of Health, before they could be dispatched to the Treasury Department for payment. However, the source mentioned that they were informed that a request would be sent to the PS to ask the accountant general (AG) that the team processing the claims should work overtime, so they can be paid the allowances on time. The allowances, however, would not be paid with the December salaries next week. The source said the director and her team promised to give further feedback today regarding the processing of the claims, in particular on the request to be made to the AG.

Allowances

Some of the doctors told this newspaper that they received a memo from the PS yesterday, that the allowances would be delayed. They said the reason behind the delay was not explained. According to the doctors, although the memo was authentic, it had a typo, which noted that the allowances would be ready by January 2023, hence they were not taking it seriously. “For now we are treating the news as a rumour,” the doctors said.
The doctors said the memo was written; “Due to unforeseen circumstances, the allowances will be delayed.” They stated that, for now, they were still deliberating on the contents of the communication and would take a decision once they were done with the discussions. “We are hoping that we will come up with an amicable solution.” Furthermore, the doctors said the communiqué was issued very late and they were not okay with the timing, as the salaries would be paid next week and were told a week before. Director of Health Services Dr Velephi Okello confirmed the meeting with the on-call committee. She said the situation was an unfortunate one, adding that the ministry was still engaging on the matter.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: