Mbabane: As the health system is stretched; particularly for critical and severe illness the Government is hiring an additional 70 health workers.
This was said by the Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku during the press briefing held on Sunday at the Cabinet offices. Masuku said hiring the health workers is meant to increase the number of trained health workers who participate in the COVID-19 response activities and improve the COVID-19 response to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to the population.
Masuku said the need to increase the number of health workers to provide services in the COVID-19 response towards controlling the pandemic in the country cannot be over emphasised. Services to be provided include educating, screening, swabbing and testing and linkage to care for those found to have been infected with COVID-19, as part of operation “Stay Ahead of the Virus”.
The new staff to be engaged includes health workers who have recently graduated from health training institutions in the country.
He added that it is apparent that because of high numbers, the health system is stretched; particularly for critical and severe illness where people need additional support and oxygen.
Masuku said efforts have been made to double local production of oxygen in December 2020; however this is not enough as the demand is very high. “We have enough ventilators but these need us to have volumes of oxygen as well.”
The Acting PM critical care spaces have been created in nearly all hospitals in the country, both public and private. Masuku said the government working together and sharing resources such as ventilators and oxygen. “Government supports private hospitals with these commodities as much as is possible.”
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