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| National |
| Govt deploys unqualified nurses, midwives |
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by
George Ntonya, 29 March 2004
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18:00:31
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President Bakili Muluzi’s directive has prompted the Ministry of Health and Population to post nurses and midwives to different government hospitals before they get accreditation from the Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi.
Muluzi directed at a recent campaign rally in Blantyre that the ministry should ensure that all government hospitals have adequate drugs and nurses.
Subsequently, the ministry placed advertisement in newspapers announcing the immediate posting of 233 “newly qualified enrolled nurses/midwives” to different hospitals.
“The Ministry of Health would like to inform the following newly qualified enrolled nurses/midwives (TA) from Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham) training institutions and the Malawi College of Health Sciences that they are requested to report immediately at their new duty stations,” reads the advertisement that appeared in the Daily Times of March 28, 2004.
But investigations have shown that some of the people on the list are still at college awaiting their final examination next month.
Officials at St. Johns School of Nursing in Mzuzu and College of Health Sciences in Zomba refused to give comments on the issue and referred the matter to the ministry. But they admitted some of the people on the list had not qualified as was indicated in the newspaper advert.
“We have not been contacted but I have seen that list. The advert says they are newly qualified but I am not very sure when they qualified,” registrar of Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi Maureen Chirwa said when contacted for a comment.
According to her the council is in the process of marking their examination after which those who pass will be registered with the council as fully qualified enrolled nurses or midwives.
Chirwa could not indicate whether or not the council would intervene on the matter.
“The regulation says that they must pass first before they are posted. Where they are posted as students, there is also provision that they would work under somebody. But we are not very sure about those postings,” she said.
Secretary for Health Richard Pendame could not take questions Monday because he was in a meeting.
He said he would be available after 1PM but his mobile phone went unanswered when we called again. |
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