Doctor’s Union warn govt’ stopping overtime is a deadly mistake
The Botswana Doctors Union (BDU) has warned the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Directorate of Public Service Management’s (DPSM) decision to halt doctors’ overtime is tantamount to genocide.
The Union’s President, Dr Refilwe Selema insists the move will not hurt doctors but will most certainly be felt by the patients who need doctors to sacrifice their time to attend to them.
“The intention of government is very clear: it’s either they really are threatening the lives Batswana, or they are threatening the doctors. What remains very apparent is that this is a militant approach from the government but the repercussions are going to be felt by Batswana. It means that doctors can now go for tea break, lunch and knock off at 430pm. If there is any surgery that is likely to go into the lunch hour, it means that the doctors will not undertake or start it until after lunch hour,” said Selama on Wednesday.
He warned of far reaching consequences and unprecedented deaths in the country’s already understaffed hospitals.
“This is a serious genocide that the Ministry of Health and DPSM are condemning Batswana to and its clearly intentional; you reproach the way they do is a serious genocide to the people. The doctors will be happier and enjoying their time, thanks to this government decision. It is up to the people to take it the way it is. It is going to be messy in this country,” predicted the BDA President.
Selama’s comments came after MoH Permanent Secretary (PS), Dr Oatlhokwa Nkomazana, released a statement slamming BDU for advising members to ‘undertake one call per month and disregard established on-call roosters’.
The Ministry feels this directive should have been paused as the two parties are meant to be undergoing arbitration to resolve their long-standing dispute.
“In light of these developments, please be advised that the Ministry of Health and the Directorate of Public Service Management have, regrettably, resolved to implement the ‘no work no pay’ principle. This will entail the immediate halting of Emergency Call and Doctors Commuted Overtime Allowance for all doctors identified as having worked only one call per month and/or refused to work scheduled work, effective April 2025,” reads the statement, dated 11 June.
Dr Nkomazana said the measure will remain in place until further notice or until such time as the matter is satisfactorily resolved through the proper channels.
“We remain committed to the attribution process and encourage all parties to uphold the integrity of this crucial mechanism for dispute resolution,” ends the communiqué.
