Insufficient Salaries Coerce Nurses Into Selling Maheu & Water To Patients

Reports suggest that nurses and staff at  Chiredzi General Hospital are selling uncertified frozen water and overnight maheu to patients as a means to supplement their salaries. 

In a letter addressed to the hospital patron, the director of Divine Foundation Trust, Tafara Pondiwa expressed his organisation’s health concerns. Part of the letter read:

The problem we are encountering is at the hospital and especially in the wards is the selling of home-made repacked overnight mahewu and frozen water to hospitalised patients by nurses and police officers’ wives, who are putting patients at risk of disease infection.

As an organisation we are worried about the stuff sold because it has come to our attention that they pick used bottles and re-pack them with water and mahewu. We request your office to help us by enforcing and restricting the sale of such food items in hospital wards.

Patients however expressed their ignorance to health hazards they were exposed to. Rather, they are happy because goods are sold at very low prices.

Health and Child Care minister Obadiah Moyo said investigations can only be carried out if the questions are forwarded to the ministry’s public relations manager Donald Mujiri.

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More: NewsDay Zimbabwe