
Saving patients lives through advocacy
Tariro Marimbe, 35, a senior nurse in Gweru City Council (GCC) has been working at poly clinics without protective clothing, gloves, sanitisers and masks. Each day they received women with pregnancies and patients suffering from various diseases such as cholera, typhoid. This forced health workers to avoid attending to patients since they feared contracting diseases.
She witnesses the horror and suffering that most patients have to endure but out of her love and compassion, she has to attend without the necessary equipment. Which puts these nurses at risk of contracting the diseases since they work in hotspot areas of Mkoba, Mutapa and Senga.
”My peers and I were at risk of contracting diseases since we did not have the equipment such as gloves, masks, overalls, sanitisers etc.
“Most residents were forced to go to hospitals in town but most cannot afford them due to the worsening socio-economic environment.
“We did not have any choice but to assist them because as nurses that is what we pledged to do, save lives not kill them. But through that sacrifice we were risking the lives of our families,” Miss Marimbe said.
“When Gweru Residents and Ratepayers Association (GRRA) made an investigation on what was going on the ground (clinics) and advocated for us. Council reacted quickly to address the challenges we as health workers and most importantly for the residents,” she said.