By KETRA KALUNGA and SENIYA BANDA
Human resource shortage facing the health sector would be resolved with the employment of 11, 200 personnel, Health Minister, Slyvia Masebo has said.
And Ms. Masebo has bemoaned the lack of a good maintenance policy of equipment in health facilities which she said the new dawn government would address.
Speaking when she toured Arthur Davies Children’s Hospital in Ndola yesterday, Ms. Masebo assured that soon human resource shortages and displacement would be dealt with.
She said the issue of some health workers being forced to work in a department that was not their specialty due to shortages of staff would be addressed through the employment of the 11, 200 staff.
“The employment of 11, 200 would address the challenge of shortage of human resource and staff displacement, all this would be dealt with,” she said.
And Ms. Masebo said the new dawn government would prioritize maintenance of equipment in health facilities by strengthening the maintenance policy.
She said the country lacks a good maintenance policy to ensure that diagnostic machines in health facilities function properly.
She said the new dawn government is premised on ensuring that no one is left behind in accessing better health services.
Meanwhile, the decision by government to prioritize volunteers in the recruitment of health personnel has angered the Zambia Medical Association.
Recently, Health minister Sylvia Masebo stated that government would prioritize individuals volunteering in health facilities in the recruitment of 11,000 health personnel.
But Zambia Medical Association General Secretary Kaumba Roy Tolopu said doctors would not allow government to arm twist them in providing free service by taking approach of prioritizing volunteers in the recruitment process of the health personnel’s .
Dr Tolopu said ZMA found the expectation from government that medical personnel worked and risked their lives without protection and remuneration to be unreasonable. He said Doctors were a precious resource, and the Government needed to immediately recognize them as such.
And Dr Tolopu has appealed to government to expedite the process of promotions and recruitment of healthcare professionals, to address the huge human resource deficit in healthcare delivery
“In order to put the nation on the fast track to development there is need to address the huge human resource deficit in healthcare delivery,” he said.
