The government on Saturday directed health workers countrywide to stop mistreating patients, instead they should embrace principles of good customer care when delivering the services.
Minister of State, President’s Office-Regional Administration and Local Governments (PO-RALG), Mohamed Mchengerwa issued the directive in Dar es Salaam at the launch of the Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey (2022 TDHS-MIS).
“The government has made huge investment in health infrastructure and medical equipment…so I want the employees who are entrusted to serve wananchi in all health centres across the country to ensure they provide quality health services and have good language for customers,” Mchengerwa said.
In particular, the minister promised to take disciplinary measures against negligent employees in the health sector.
“I will take disciplinary measures immediately when I find out there is negligence in the provision of health services… providing quality services is the responsibility of each one of us,” he underlined.
Mr Mchengerwa also called upon the citizens to report dishonest and negligent workers who fail to perform their duties properly.
He instructed Regional Commissioners (RCs) to ensure they closely supervise the provision of quality health services through monitoring and listening to citizens’ complaints and act on challenges.
In a related development, he noted that in the past 2 years, the government has allocated approximately 368.12 bn/- to improve health infrastructures and purchasing medical equipment for provision of basic health services.
He added that the improvement of infrastructure went in line with the availability of human resources, where the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Governments (PO-RALG)) recruited approximately 17,950 health professionals in the past two years.
He also commended President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan for accepting the ministry’s request to recruit 10,305 staff in the health sector in 2023/ 24 financial year.
“Let me take this opportunity to emphasise to the Regional Commissioners (RCs) and District Commissioners (DCs) to ensure that all the newly constructed health centres start to operate because the staff and medical equipment have largely been allocated.”
For her part, Health Minister Ummy Mwalimu said the CCM election manifesto 2020-2025 requires them to bring health services closer to wananchi, adding that within two years of President Samia’s leadership the government has constructed 1,498 health centres.
She further said the government has made a huge investment in purchasing medical equipment and employing specialist doctors.
“Today we have installed CT-scan machines in all regional hospitals except in Songwe and Mara regions,” the minister added.
She said: “Our country has now become a regional medical hub as it treats patients from neighbouring countries, including Comoros, Zambia, Mozambique, DRC-Congo, Malawi, Burundi and Kenya.
He further noted that in 2022 to 2023, the country’s hospitals received 6,472 patients from abroad.
Between July and September this year alone the country received 1596 patients who came from other countries to seek treatment in the country.
Source : Daily News