|
|
|
|
| National |
| Govt for less trained nurses |
|
by
Mzati Nkolokosa, 20 August 2004
-
12:25:12
|
Government has said to curb brain drain among nurses it will start producing less trained workers who are not marketable overseas but the Malawi Law Society (MLS) and a health body have described the plan as wrong and unethical.
Health Minister Dr Hetherwick Ntaba told BBC Wednesday that government will train more nurse technicians and auxiliary nurses than State Registered Nurses who go up to degree level at Kamuzu College of Nursing to reduce brain drain hitting his Ministry which, as of last year, had 72 percent nursing vacancies, up from 53 percent in 1998.
But MLS has described the move as unconstitutional because Section 13 (c) of the country’s Constitution requires government to “provide adequate health care, commensurate with health needs of Malawian society and international standards of health care”.
“It’s not like a Malawian citizen is entitled to some standard level of care but it should also be linked to international standards,” said MLS treasurer Alick Msowoya, adding: “What the minister said tends to compromise the Constitution.”
Msowoya added that Section 25 of the Constitution entitles all Malawians to education and limiting the level of nurses training is a breach of the right to education and economic development.
“The solution is not to frustrate people’s education,” said Msowoya, adding that as a country we have to be proud that our nurses are of international standards and that what the country needs is to pay them handsomely.
Reacting to Ntaba’s statement, the Malawi Healthy Equity Network (MHEN) said the tactic is both unethical and wrong.
“Ethically we believe it is wrong to deliberately put unqualified and under-trained health personnel to handle patients at any level,” said MHEN programme manager Paul Msoma in a written interview.
“Again we believe the minister is quite aware that quality in health service delivery can and will never be compromised for anything,” added Msoma, cautioning that this option “will negatively affect our public health sector”.
The NGO, which works towards health for all, said the bulk of clinical services in Malawi are provided by medical assistants and clinical officers.
“How much lower do we want to go?” asked Msoma, adding that this will affect the delivery of health services including the fight against HIV and Aids.
He said it is better to find solutions to the causes of brain drain which have less to do with the British market than working conditions here.
Msoma said MHEN is concerned with the government’s lack of commitment to solving the human resource problem, noting that the Health Services Commission isn’t doing much to address the problems faced by health workers.
But in an interview on Thursday Ntaba defended the move, saying Malawi needs enrolled and auxiliary nurses a lot more than registered nurses.
“UK is poaching degree and enrolled [certificate] nurses. We will do better to train more nurse technicians and auxiliary nurses,” said Ntaba in a telephone interview adding: “We want to train more of a cadre that we need.”
Ntaba said there is need for poor Malawians, whose taxes fund nursing school, to benefit from the nurses services, a situation which isn’t happening now because upon completion the nurses fly to UK.
Nurse technicians study basics of caring for the sick in two years at health schools while auxiliary nurses, whose credibility is doubted by senior health workers, are trained on the job. The first group is yet to graduate from Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.
Research carried out on Thursday that nurse technicians and auxiliary nurses cannot competently handle maternity issues. Training more of them means that clinical officers will have unreasonable workloads in labour wards.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
