Call to reinstate Ts’epong nurses
MAMELLO SEBATANE
Maseru – Following recent reports that at least 345 specialist nurses from Queen ’Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) popularly known as Ts’epong were fired by management, a group of young Basotho has released a statement strongly condemning the dismissal of nurses.
In the statement signed by Thusa Leina, Kananelo Boleotse, Motsamai Mokotjo, Sibongile Mapikitla, Thabiso Mothibeli, Kelebohile Mavuso and Mabetha Mohau, the youths said the decision will not only affect the said nurses but the country`s overall health system.
“This malevolent move by the selfish management of QMMH will not only have a far-reaching impact on the nurses’ life trajectories, their psychological and physical well-being, but will also put a strain on the country’s health system and throw poor Basotho at the receiving end,” the letter stated. Since QMMH is the only referral hospital in Lesotho, the youths said in the statement that it is the last resort for all poor people seeking decent healthcare services.
“(QMMH) provides the highest level of care in the country and it boggles the mind why these nurses are victimised for asking to be paid a salary that is at least equivalent to that paid to nurses working in the health facilities run by government,” the statement said.
The statement further indicated that a decision to relieve nurses of their duties is equivalent to destroying the entire health system of Lesotho from its head. “When you kill the head, the body will die, and this will leave a lot of poor patients stranded,” the statement read, adding that the wealthy will always have the option to travel elsewhere for better healthcare.
Speaking to Public Eye Online, Thuso Leina said all the nurses should be reinstated to work at Ts’epong without any further delay. “Since we are already in a middle of a pandemic and it anticipated that soon we will experience the third wave of Covid-19 infections, this is putting the lives of Basotho at more risks,” he said stressing that the said nurses already have enough experience working under conditions of a pandemic hence it would be a bad decision to hire new staff without experience at all.
He indicated further that the plea is to government to act in its rightful power and responsibility as partners at Ts’epong to ensure that nurses go back to work.
