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Health workers challenged to expose corrupt elements
2005-08-16 08:40:40
By Guardian Reporter
Workers in the health sector have been urged to expose corrupt health officials who demand bribes from patients.
The Director of Training in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Gilbert Mlinga, threw the challenge at the weekend during the graduation ceremony of nursing and midwifery colleges at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).
He said the status of the health sector had been degraded by the rising wave of corruption pioneered by unfaithful and unethical health workers.
Mlinga decried long procedures in the provision of health services as one of the causes that prompted patients to give kickbacks in order to get quick services.
He called on health workers to provide efficient services to plug loopholes for corruption and related practices.
Said he: ”Long queues and inefficient services are the leading factors that perpetuate corruption. We have to watch each other to repair the image of the health sector.”
Mlinga urged health professionals to halt the use of abusive language and nasty words towards pregnant mothers and patients generally.
”It is important we employ polite language when attending patients. We have to copy what is being done in other sectors of the country’s economy,” said Mlinga.
He also challenged graduates to serve the country instead of rushing for well-paying jobs outside the country after graduation.
”It’s true that you are well paid outside, but I appeal to you to serve your nation at least for some years before departing to other countries,” he said.
He told the graduands to keep abreast with new developments in the field with an objective to improve the provision of health services.
According to Mlinga, Tanzania need more midwives to rescue lives of pregnant mothers.
Current figures indicate that out of 1,000 pregnant mothers 529 of them die during the process.
”Despite of the fact that we have managed to reduce death rate of pregnant mothers and under-five children, pregnant mothers are still dying at an alarming rate,” he said.
The Head of Midwife College at Muhimbili, Rose Laizer, said the college faced serious shortage of classrooms for nurses, library, accommodation and reliable means of transport.
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