The latest strike by nurses and junior or resident doctors in Zimbabwe is disastrous for the seriously or terminally ill patients, especially those battling HIV/AIDS, sources say.
Hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo are turning away patients because senior doctors and the nurses remaining on duty, who are in slowdown mode, cannot handle the workload.
Nurses at Harare Hospital joined junior doctors in striking for better compensation.
Health care sources said the situation is worsening in the four state hospitals in the two main cities, with only emergency cases receiving medical attention.
VOA was unable to obtain comment Wednesday from top Health Ministry officials. An official at the Health Services Board said the strikers’ demands were being addressed.
Chairwoman Martha Tolana of the Zimbabwe Network For Positive Women told VOA reporter Sandra Nyaira that while she sympathizes with striking doctors, their work action is weighing heavily on terminally ill patients deprived of medical care, drugs and counseling.