Doctors start boycott

Junior doctors in Zimbabwe decided to go ahead with a boycott of after-hours working starting on Friday, the ‘Daily News’ reported on the same day. The doctors said the government had ignored their request for better allowances for extra hours. The move means that from Friday, about 250 doctors at major hospitals, mainly in the capital Harare and Bulawayo, will not work after 4pm. The doctors met in Harare on Thursday and decided to go ahead with the boycott. Dr Tatenda Mawire, the president of the Hospital Doctors Association, said the government did not seem to appreciate the impact of the boycott. “We met today and decided to proceed with the withdrawal of our on-call services,” he said. “The Public Service Commission has been quiet. I guess they don’t realise the consequences of this withdrawal of our services during those hours.” The boycott comes at a difficult time, accident and emergency admissions traditionally increase over the coming holiday period.