Graft hits public health sector

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Community Health Watch says corruption has compounded the health crisis in the country as hospital tender regulations are being flouted and medicines stolen.

A pressure group — Community Health Watch (CHW) — says corruption has compounded the health crisis in the country as hospital tender regulations are being flouted and medicines stolen.

BY VENERANDA LANGA

CHW trustee Fungisai Dube said their organisation was worried by reports which revealed that drugs were missing from hospitals.

“The level of corruption in our public hospitals is disheartening as it is happening in a country where close to 10 million citizens have no access to private health care and thus rely on public health care,” said Dube.

“Corruption has compounded the health crisis in our country, and CHW monitors on the ground have raised concern over corrupt tendencies pervading our health institutions from the top officials to the last person sweeping the floors.”

According to CHW, when their monitors visited different hospitals in the country, they noted corruption in the allocation of anti-retroviral drugs to people living with HIV.

“If you know someone [who works at the hospital] you do not have to queue for six hours to access ARVs. An excuse will be made for you, while other patients have to wait from 6am to 12 noon,” Dube said.

“As a result, in the end it forces them to buy food items from the nurses whose aim is to make sales. We need justice, dignity and fairness in the treatment of patients. Selective application of rules and procedures in accessing health should be stopped.” Dube also urged hospitals to strengthen their monitoring and accounting systems to stop theft of medicines at hospitals. The CHW cited a recent case of four nurses who allegedly stole drugs worth US$91 000 from their employer, the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) for use at their private clinic.

“This case in itself depicts the porous nature of our health administrative systems which are prone to abuse and misuse,” Dube said.

“The nurses in the story alleged that there was no proper storage of drugs at the ZNFPC as some are stored at passages and this arrangement itself smirks of negligence on the part of ZNFPC authorities. The nurses are also accused of signing off drug exchanges with Harare Hospital and the question then is how do they do it without approval by authorities?”

She said the case proved the weak nature of the hospital’s accounting and auditing systems and called for the upgrading of the systems to meet the real time models in line with current global trends.

“CHW calls for a more detailed investigation of the matter and for an audit of the ZNFPC as this incident is a microcosm of a deeper rot in our institutions. CCTV cameras are thus a must at every health institution in order to keep every health personnel under check,” Dube said.

“Nurses should not be allowed to sell anything to patients, be it food or medical supplies as this creates room and avenues for abuse of state resources for personal gain.”

Other cases of corruption noted were the recent exposé by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care chaired by Ruth Labode (MDC-T), which recently investigated a case of serious flouting of tender procedures by Munene Hospital in Mberengwa.

Alarm bells were raised after it emerged a company involved in supermarket businesses had been awarded a US$700 000 tender to refurbish buildings and supply medical equipment (X-rays) to Munene Mission Hospital.

The committee is currently investigating the issue after it emerged the project failed to be completed since 2011 when the tender was awarded, and that the supermarket delivered X ray equipment which broke down after a day’s use.

“Our hospitals thus need an overhaul of systems, from tender processes, drug allocations, storage, use and exchanges, among other issues. It is our belief that Zimbabwe health challenges could be mitigated through creating clear concrete systems that enhance accountability, transparency and good governance in our institutions,” Dube said.

Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Paul Chimedza said Munene Hospital would be probed because the misused funds were public funds.

“The hospital will have to give us monthly reports on how it will be operating while we investigate the irregularities we noted,” said Chimedza.