Clinic staff under fire

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 14:15:19 +0000

By ANNIE ZULU

SOME medical staff at Lusaka’s Chawama clinic in Lusaka have come under fire for alleged unprofessional conduct, including harassment of patients.

The patients, who expressed disgust at the manner in which the health institution was being run, accused the staff of causing emotional trauma to patients who visited the clinic in need of medical attention.

An elderly woman who identified herself as Nakulu Mubanga said the health facility had been transformed into a ‘‘disaster area’’, with nurses being the chief culprits.

“We spend almost the entire day queuing only to be told that there was no medicine and we have to look for it elsewhere.

‘‘I am 69 years old and terribly ill, where do I get the energy and money to buy medicine? This clinic is no longer the way it used to be in those days, nurses are rude,” she lamented.

Another patient Mutinta Hakalima, who recently gave birth from the clinic, accused nurses in the maternity ward of harassing women in labour.

She called on Government to visit the clinic regularly and find out what the patients were grumbling about and take stern action against the culprits.

“I gave birth at the clinic recently, I went there hoping that I will be helped to give birth to my baby by experts, but I was shocked by the way I was treated together with other women.

“The nurses were rude; we were not given the attention we needed. It was a horrible experience and I think Government should start inspecting the wards and see how women are treated by the so-called professional nurses,” she said.