Equipment, medicines and other medical sundries worth
thousands of dollars were destroyed when fire razed Banket Hospital’s pharmacy,
storeroom and rehabilitation centre on Wednesday night.
The cause of the fire, which is yet to be ascertained is
suspected to have been an electrical fault.
Mashonaland West provincial police spokesperson Assistant
Inspector Ian Kohwera yesterday said investigations were still underway.
Zvimba district development coordinator, Ms Fortunate
Muzulu said reports from the staff suggest that the fire broke out as a result
of an electrical upsurge.
She said apart from its medical supplies, the hospital also
lost personal protective equipment (PPEs), sanitisers and other items that had
been handed over to the hospital from the Ministry of Health and Child Care
earlier.
“The fire is said to have been caused by a spark from an
electrical upsurge a few minutes after the resumption of power,” she said.Medical supplies and PPEs worth thousands were destroyed by
the fire.
The district medical officer, Dr Terence Dandanzi said a
Harare fire tender attended the scene two hours later.
“The Harare fire tender, which arrived some two hours late
and could not save the hospital from the blaze,” he said.
“The fire destroyed all our medical supplies and other
stuff including PPEs that we received from our provincial offices earlier in
the day.”
He said about 30 patients that were admitted at the
hospital had been moved to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital.
Zvimba South legislator, Dr Philip Chiyangwa visited the
hospital in the company of Zvimba West Member of Parliament and Minister of
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi.
The two pleaded with the business community and
well-wishers to assist.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Mashonaland West
Mary Mliswa-Chikoka said the incident was a huge blow to the entire provincial
health system and the fight against Covid-19.
“The civil protection unit and public works department have
since been activated to ascertain the impact of the damage, while as a temporary
measure, patients who were admitted here have been moved to Chinhoyi Provincial
Hospital,” she said.
“We hope to address the challenge in the earliest possible
time, as a lot of people rely on medicals from this referral institution.”
A lot of residents and patients who rely on the health
institution urged the Government to respond to the incident swiftly so that
they will be able to access their medication during the lockdown period
underway. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment