New doctors recently assigned to health centres in remote areas of the country abandoned their post due to poor work conditions prevent them from providing adequate patient care.
Member of Parliament, MP Manuel Castro Pereira, called on government to provide adequate conditions for the doctors.
“I went to Waimori Village, in the District of Viqueque, and I did not find a single doctor. I asked them if the new doctors had come to present themselves for duty but was told none had come,” said MP Pereira.
He said this is happening in other rural areas because despite doctors wanting to work in remote areas, lack of adequate conditions make this not possible despite many patients not having access to proper health care services.
“This is a regrettable situation and I blame the government for not providing them with adequate conditions,” said the MP.
A resident of Uatocarbau sub-district, in Viqueque, Rosa da Costa, also raised concerns with the opening times of the Uatocarbau Health Centre, from 10.00 to 12.00 (two-hours) only and with emergency patients having to go look for them in their homes outside these times.
“I go there, I see the job schedule is different with health facilities in health staff National they give consulting services in the morning and afternoon, while in Uatocarbau health centre they go to sleep in their home; the patients come and then go to call it’s not good,” he lamented.
“I went there and opening times are not the same as in other health centres nationally that see patients in the morning and in the afternoon. At the health centre in Uatocarbaun doctors go home to sleep and patients have to go and call them at home,” said the resident.
