Patients stay away as doctors` strike bites

The number of patients going to public hospitals dropped drastically yesterday as the doctors’ strike entered its second day, paralysing services at Muhimbili National Hospital and other referral hospitals.

By yesterday evening the government was yet to announce remedial measures it is planning to take to end the strike.

A survey by The Guardian in public hospitals of Muhimbili, Temeke and Amana in Dar es Salaam revealed that only a few patients were going for treatment although they were not sure of being attended to.

At the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI), patients who had appointments were attended to and assigned to doctors but they found the consulting rooms empty.

MOI Public Relations Officer Almasi Juma said some of the services at the hospital had deteriorated because the few working doctors could not take on the additional workload.

He admitted that services for the Out Patients Department in the clinical section have been closed until further notice and that the staff was attending to patients who are admitted.

“We usually have 70 doctors at MOI, but we have remained with only 15 …this number cannot attend to all the patients,” said Almasi.

He confirmed that doctors who were working were the heads of departments and some specialists.

At Muhimbili services were also stalled with no signs of doctors attending to patients. Patients were seen roaming in the hospital premises.

MNH Public Relations Officer Aminieli Aligaesha was not available to comment on the situation. The Guardian team found the door to his office locked and his mobile phone switched off.

Marwa Chacha a resident of Kinondoni said he decided to take his mother to Regency Hospital, after failing to get attended to at Muhimbili.

He said that he is scared of losing his mother because she has not been attended to at Muhimbili.

Filbert Tarimo coming all the way from Morogoro had an appointment yesterday with a doctor for a heart checkup but he was told to go back home until further notice.

“I am really disappointed by what is happening to the health sector in the country. The government has to intervene in this matter as a lot of patients are going to die,” he said.

At Temeke hospital, no doctors were attending the admitted patients, nor were outpatients being served. Patients were seen in the premises, hoping that they may be attended to.

“I have been here for six hours now, but there is no hope of getting any service from the doctors… I don’t know where to go. The nurses advised me to go back home if I got tired,” said Lucy Myamba who resides in Mbagala Kizuiani.

An expectant mother identified as Fatma Rashid (46) from Mtoni Kijichi who was sitting at OPD for several hours said she was waiting for admission to the maternity ward but she was told that there was no one to attend to her.

“I don’t understand what to do. I’ve been here for hours now, but they told me to go back home or find an alternative hospital,” said Fatma.

The Guardian tried to reach the Temeke Hospital Medical Officer in charge for comment, but was told they were in a meeting.

At Amana hospital in Ilala Municipality, the number of patients at the hospital had gone down drastically compared to normal days.

One of the patients who preferred anonymity said that they have been told by the OPD receptionists to wait since there was only one doctor to attend all of them and admitted patients as well.

Only two doctors were serving maternity and pediatric wards.

The Hospital Medical Officer Meshack Shimwela declined to respond to questions from journalists.

Meanwhile in Iringa region the doctors were at the hospital premises but did not attend to patients.

Surveys conducted at Iringa, Jumbo district hospitals and Makambako health centre found long queues of patients who were not sure of getting attended to at the hospitals.

“The situation here has become worse …I came here since morning, but it is now half past 2 and I have not seen a single doctor attending to patients …I call upon President Jakaya Kikwete to urgently intervene because the lives of innocent people are in danger,” said Deo Mlimwila, a resident of Ubena.

Doctors and nurses at Tanga’s Bombo hospital opted for go-slow yesterday where by they were seen roaming around the hospital wards but they didn’t provide any service to patients.

"The go-slow started today (yesterday) because I came here on Wednesday and I was attended to, but today every doctor is busy with his/her own business. They are not even looking at us,” said one of the patients who were at the reception waiting to be attended.

Some patients who went to the hospital described the doctors’ strike as a “national disaster” saying that besides causing inconvenience to patients it also threatened the lives of low income earners.

The Medical Association of Tanzania chairman Dr Namala Mkopi said on Wednesday that doctors had resolved to call a countrywide strike after the government failed to heed their call to remove Minister for Health and Social Welfare Dr Hadji Mponda and his deputy Dr Lucy Nkya.

The government on Tuesday defended Dr Mponda and Dr Nkya saying they were still new in the government and thus had nothing to do with the doctors’ problems.

“We have waited for long for the minister and his deputy to be sacked, since this issue doesn’t need a budget but decision,” said Mkopi, stressing that they will only resume work after the minister and his deputy resign or are fired.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN