Nurses stage strike at Mwanza district hospital to demand transfer of DHO: ‘We are working as slaves’

Mwanza District Hospital workers  including nurseson Tuesday staged a strike as part of their demand to have District Health Officer (DHO) Ralph Piringu and District Nursing Officer (DNO),  transferred for allegedly  ill-treating them and other junior members of staff.

They were protesting that Pirungu has been ill treating the staff and that they are not working with peace.

“This strike is to get over a message to authorities about what is happening  here and to get the message to the government that Piringu must go,” said a nurse speaking to Nyasa Times on condition of anonymity.

Another nurse cited the transfer of their colleagues from the hospital over “petty issues” which has led to those remaining at the facility to over-work as  the hospital has less than 40 nurses now.

“With the termination of locum, we are working as slaves,” said the nurse.

Mwanza District Hospital spokesperson Dikilani Chadza confirmed the sit-in strike but said the district hospital management and officials from the Nurses Council of Malawi are meeting to resolve the differences.

With already poor health service, many of the people using the hospital may not have noticed a huge difference with the sit-in.