The issues that were discussed at the BNP are as detailed below:
1. Urgent procurement of standard hospital equipment and essential medicines. Mr. Speaker, it should be noted that procurement is dependent on the available resources from both Treasury and the Health Services Fund. Within the harsh economic environment Zimbabwe is facing, commitments have been made by Government to ensure that all public hospitals provide at least all basic services in line with the health care packages delivered or defined for the various levels of care.
Furthermore, Government in December, 2017 disbursed US$22 million from the Health Levy Fund. This has been used primarily to support the procurement of medicines and medical sundries, hospital equipment and the reduction of the cost of blood from an average of $120 to $50 per unit at public institutions. Government continues to accord the health sector priority status in foreign currency allocation for the procurement of medicines, medical sundries and hospital equipment.
2. The other issue that was discussed at the bipartite meeting was the upliftment of the blanket freeze on the recruitment of doctors and other health workers. In 2017, in recognition of the critical role played by doctors in health services provision, Treasury approved the creation of an additional 250 posts for completing their internship. Currently, there are efforts to identify critical posts for unfreezing across the health services. Treasury concurred to the appointment of 162 junior resident medical officers with effect from 1st March, 2018. These positions were communicated to ZIDA leadership through the bipartite negotiating panel.
3. Clearly defined working hours. In terms of the ILO Standards each worker should work a maximum of 40 hours per week. It is then the responsibility of the local management to design duty rosters that are appropriate for their institutions taking into account the available human resource base. This may need further defining.
4. Payment of all locum hours owed to all doctors. Payment of all outstanding locum claims commenced in February, 2018. Doctors had been owed monies from November, 2017 and from February, they have started paying those locums.
5. Regarding of doctors to their correct salary grades. Treasury in its minute dated and regarding SRMOs, middle level and senior registrars with effect from March, 2018.
6. Cessation of current practice to scrap housing allowance and post-internship housing. Mr. Speaker, what happens is when doctors come as housemen, they are supposed to be staying at their places of work and that is why they are called resident medical officers. So, they deserve either a proper housing at the institution or compensation for that housing if they stay outside. Interns who do not reside in institutional accommodation are given an out of residence allowance of $250 per month in addition to the standard housing allowance of $131 per month to enable them to rent accommodate closer to their work stations, while those that stay in institutional accommodation are given the standard housing allowance only. On completion of internship, the out of residence allowance no longer applies. On deployment as GMOs or HMOs the doctors should now be paid the standard housing allowance.
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