Nurses Threaten Poor Service Delivery in Public Hospitals

National Organization of Nurses and Midwives of Malawi (Nonm) has warned of continued poor service delivery in public hospitals as some of the nurses are no longer interested in working overtime.

Benson Phiri, Nonm Executive Director said this at a two day workshop with journalists in Blantyre.

The workshop was organized with the aim of sensitizing journalist the role of Nonm and nurses profession in the country.

Nurses in the country have been asking government to increase their overtime allowances and employ more nurses but the request has been made in vain.

Following backdrop reports saying government is not increasing overtime allowances for nurses, they resort not to be working for overtime.

The nurses get between K3, 200 and K3, 600 per day as overtime allowances and Nonm, has been fighting for an increase.

“What we want is that the government should increase the allowances from K3, 200 to K10, 000 per day and from K3, 600 to K15, 000 per day. Otherwise, the nurses are not interested in working overtime. People should not call this a strike, nurses just want to work normal hours as prescribed by the labor laws,” Phiri said.

Phiri further said that it is not illegal for nurses and midwives to withdraw from voluntary services they offer to patients.

Malawi Labour Laws states that an employee is supposed to work 8.5 hours a day, according to Phiri, some nurses’ work up to 17 hours without rest.

Commenting on the matter, Ministry of Health’s’ spokesperson Joshua Malango said there is a taskforce that is reviewing allowances for nurses and midwives.

“But the new allowances can only be incorporated in the new budget which becomes effective on July 1 2019,” he said.

Nonm is an independent body which represents nurses and midwives in the country.