Stefanus Nashama
The Leader of the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and the official opposition party, McHenry Venaani called on the Government and stakeholders to prioritise the well-being of health workers and address the challenges they are facing.
Venaani said many nurses in the country face numerous challenges like detrimental working conditions in government hospitals and clinics as well as dilapidated conditions of nurses’ homes which negatively impact their health and well-being.
“Many employees in public health care centres, particularly nurses face the challenge of inadequate salaries and lack of resources and supplies,” he stated.
Venaani further said nurses work long hours in understaffed facilities, which can lead to burnout and increase the risk of medical errors.
“These challenges have a significant impact on nurses’ well-being and their ability to provide quality care to patients,” he said.
Some of these challenges have forced employees in public health sectors to go into private health sectors, where they find it easier to provide health care to patients. A nurse at Lady Pohamba Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity said he was working in a government health care centre. He sought employment in the private sector because of a lack of equipment which made it difficult for him to deliver service as expected.
“The challenges differ from person to person, but for me, it is just the frustration of not having what you need to deliver. Sometimes, you may find yourself making use of equipment that you are not supposed to use. You cannot really do your job as expected,” the anonymous source said.
Venaani said Namibia should learn from the challenges exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlighted the need for increased investment in the public healthcare sectors and better support for health workers in the country.
“Nurses are the frontlines of our health care system,” he said.
He also said the lesson learnt from the pandemic should be translated into actions to provide successful health care in government hospitals.
Venaani urged the Government and the Ministry of Health and Social Services to invest more in improving the working condition of employees, upgrading nurses’ homes to ensure a safe and comfortable environment, and improving the service of providing necessary medical equipment.
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Kalumbi Shangula was in the meeting at the time he was contacted for comments.
