Maputo, 29 Aug (AIM) – The strike by doctors, called by the Mozambican Medical Association (AMM), may have contributed to the deaths of 142 people in Maputo Central Hospital alone, according to a report in Tuesday’s issue of the independent newssheet, “Carta de Mocambique”.
The second phase of the AMM’s strike began on 10 July and lasted for 42 days. The AMM suspended the strike last Thursday, to allow for dialogue with the government’s new negotiating team, headed by Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane.
During that 42 day period, 1,087 people died in the central hospital, according to the hospital sources cited by “Carta de Mocambique”. This is significantly more than the 945 deaths in the hospital recorded in the same period in 2022.
There were thus 142 extra deaths in July-August 2023 when compared with the previous year. A major difference between the two periods is that this year those doctors who obeyed the AMM’s call went on strike. It is not unreasonable to assume that the strike contributed to the extra deaths.
During the strike, many surgical operations were postponed, and specialist treatment ceased to be administered. The AMM claimed that it allowed a minimum level of services to be provided – this was often in the hands of foreign doctors, doctors from the armed forces, medical students and trainees.
In this period the average number of deaths per day in the hospital was 25. This was a 15 per cent increase in the number of deaths in the same period of 2022.
206 of the deaths were among children.
In the last few days covered by the “Carta de Mocambique” article, other health workers (such as nurses, laboratory technicians, anaesthetists and ambulance drivers), who are members of the United Association of Health Professionals (APSUSM), were also on strike, and this might also have contributed to the mortality figures.
The demands made by the AMM included increased overtime pay (the government said the AMM was demanding four times as much overtime pay as for any other workers in the public service), and improvements in the way doctors are placed in the new Unified Wage Table (TSU) for the public administration.
(AIM)
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