Nurses At Mnene Hospital Accuse Senior Staffer Of Abuse Of Office
Some staff members at Mnene Mission Hospital in Mberengwa have accused a senior employee and the accounts department at the hospital of corruption and abuse of office.
One of the disgruntled workers who spoke to Pindula News on condition of anonymity accused the hospital Matron, Mollie Marufu, of a litany of transgressions.
The nurse alleged that Marufu used to send her people to workshops who will in return give her gifts and money but now because those staff members are no longer at the hospital, she attends all the workshops. Said the nurse
We are facing a challenge here at Mnene Hospital as nurses. The matron is abusing her office. She used to send people to workshops who will in return give her gifts and money.
Now because all these staff members are no longer at Mnene hospital, she, herself is now attending all the workshops, some of which are even meant for specific nurses.
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In January, she was on vacation leave but she went to a COVID-19 vaccination programme.
In February, there was a workshop in Kwekwe which was meant for HIV testers yet she went again with only one nurse even though two nurses who are testers were supposed to attend.
In the second half of the month of February, the Matron was out for the vaccination programme which ran for two weeks.
This meant that ever since she returned from leave, she has constantly been out of the office.
Does this mean nurses at Mnene Hospital are not allowed to attend those workshops or is it just a matter of greediness?
A senior nurse at the hospital complained that since she was deployed to Mnene by the Ministry of Health and Child Care, she hasn’t attended a single workshop.
The nurse said there isn’t a single Registered General Nurse (RGN) or midwife at the hospital who is an HIV tester.
Another issue raised by the nurses is the alleged abuse of result-based funds (RBF) funds at the hospital. Said a nurse:
The accounts department always delays in disbursing the incentive which should be given to staff.
Whenever a staff member goes for study leave or vacation leave, the individual will be removed from the list of people who are supposed to get the incentive.
At other hospitals, as long a person is on the paysheet, he or she will receive the incentive in hard cash.
But here at Mnene, they claim they deposit the money into Nostro accounts.
The disgruntled nurses said the system in place is unfair because they will spend all the incentives on bus fares since they will need to travel to the bank to withdraw the paltry allowance.
The nurses also accused the accounts department of overcharging patients when they want to do a referral to Bulawayo. Added the nurse:
This has been happening for so long, and as nurses, it pains us because these patients struggle to raise the money.
They charge US$120 for fuel to ferry the patient to Bulawayo, yet they will just buy fuel which cost US$60 and they will share the other US$60 amongst themselves.
When contacted for comment, Marufu referred this reporter to the District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr Gwama who said he was busy at the time.
Efforts to reach the DMO later were fruitless as his mobile number was unreachable.
