By Staff Reporter
More than 200 nurses, doctors, and health support staff at the upmarket PSMI-owned health care center, Claybank Private hospital in Gweru have gone on strike since Monday. They demand better salaries, improved working conditions, and USD allowances.
The health workers claim that the situation at the hospital was now unbearable as patients are being turned away because of a shortage of protective clothes, basic medicine, and low morale among staff members, including doctors.
“We have temporarily downed tools to protest against the deteriorating working conditions and failure by the employer to pay us our RTGS salaries on time, as well as nonpayment of Covid 19 allowances which civil servants are receiving. We have been trying to talk to the PSMI management about our challenges and incapacitation but it seems they don’t care,” said the interviewed staff members.
Patients are no longer able to undergo operation procedures as the theater has no basic equipment needed, and also there are no technicians to operate the X-ray machines.
The Sun News crew visited the private hospital on Tuesday and found workers seated at the hospital car park, while patients were being referred to the public Gweru Provincial Hospital (GPH) for treatment.
“The hospital is now struggling to offer quality service as patients are being turned away due to lack of medication and availability of doctors. The working condition here is dangerous as we are exposed to diseases due to a lack of protective clothing.
“Our salaries are not coming on time and we are being paid RTGS, just imagine being paid April salary in May when the currency had already lost value,” said the health workers.
Claybank Private Hospital is a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Service Medical Investments (PSMI).
When contacted for comment PSMI spokesperson said, “Working capital gaps continue to affect the operations of the hospital, and indeed, PSMI as a whole. Because of the gaps that exist between the costs of providing services and the revenue inflows, we will continue to face challenges in areas like remuneration and conditions of service.
“We acknowledge that the negative working capital gap at PSMI has resulted in business disruptions which include intermittent closures of some facilities as a result of a delayed payment of premise and practitioner licenses, practitioner cover, rentals and rates, supply of water and backup power”
He said doctors at the Claybank Hospital have declared incapacitation and management was working with their representatives to find a lasting solution to the matters they have raised.
“The management is working with staff representatives to establish a meeting of minds on how we can continue to provide services in the current situation as service delivery remains a priority as does staff welfare. The movement of our funding cycle has led directly to the delays in salary dates.
“The concerns of our staff are valid, and we have had a backlog of payments of staff benefits which we have begun to settle, but the gap remains and at the current rate, it will take a while longer to get up to date. We are confident that once all stakeholder engagements are completed and our situation improves, we will once again be an employer of choice,” said a PSMI spokesperson.
However, PSMI dismissed demands for USD payment of allowances by staff members saying the company was receiving its funding in RTGS, not in USD.
“The major source of income that pays our staff salaries are subscriptions to PSMAS, which are paid in local currency. It would be impossible, at this point, to pay salaries in USD as we do not have the revenue base to sustain this request. Our current forex receipts are minimal and are directed towards items such as stocks where they constitute a small percentage of the requirements.
“We remain optimistic that once the internal processes and verification on the part of our funders have been completed, they will make the remittances which will go a long way in addressing the majority of issues raised here,” PSMI.
