Patients are starving at Zvamabande Rural Hospital in
Shurugwi with nurses and generous members of the community now donating basic
food needs like sugar and cooking oil to feed critical patients.
Zvamabande which is the biggest rural referral hospital in
Shurugwi District is a stone throw away from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s
Zvishavane rural home and it is used by villagers from Zvishavane, Shurugwi and
Chivi.
The situation was revealed when the community invited
Shurugwi District Administrator (DA) Langton Mupeta to come and see things for
himself. Mupeta expressed shock at what he saw and hailed the nurses and the
community for showing care and love.
The hospital kitchen had one 2-liter bottle of cooking oil,
2 x 500grams packets of chunks, 2kg sugar donated by the community to feed
patients when Mupeta visited.
Many patients are being discharged from the hospital
because of the food shortages and the the situation has seen more women giving
birth at home, according to sources that spoke to The Mirror during last
Wednesday’s tour.
Zvamabande has nearly 80 beds and it also caters for
expecting mothers.
In addition to food shortages, nurses complained against a
dysfunctional mortuary that has not been repaired for the last nine months.
Thirty eight solar panels that provide power to the hospital have also been out
of order for the same period, said the nurses.
Mupeta attributed the problems to the economic situation in
the country and hailed the nurses and the community for their generosity and
urged anyone who can assist to do so until the economy was back on the rails.
Mupeta also noted that there were no clean blankets for
pregnant women and there was no bed linen and that forced the expecting mothers
to sleep directly on the mattresses.
“The situation we face in the country means that we should
come together and assist the patients. Food comes first for patients and we
must prioritise that. I am proud that we have the kind of people that are here
who have the love and care for others. It does not paint a good picture for us
to discharge patients because of food shortages, we must find solutions,” said
Mupeta.
The nurses also complained about staff toilets where nurses
are sharing the same toilets with the patients.
Emanuel Anesu Fundira, a Parliamentary candidate who lost
in the 2018 harmonised elections donated one beast to the hospital.
“I heard that there are food shortages at our rural
hospital and it touched me that patients were being discharged due to lack of
food. I have donated a beast and as a community we will continue to assist,”
said Fundira Masvingo Mirror
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