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A tour of the hospital by Chiredzi South MP Kalisto
Gwanetsa (Zanu PF ), Chiredzi Rural District Council chief executive Isaac
Matsilele, the acting district medical officer David
Tarumbwa and other officials from various sectors exposed
the hospital’s deplorable state.
According to Gwanetsa, the late Vice-Presidents Joshua
Nkomo, Joseph Msika and John Nkomo were once treated at the referral centre in
the 1970s while incarcerated at Gonakudzingwa.
“Gonakudzingwa is just 64km from this hospital and all
nationalists were treated here whenever they were taken ill. This is the
biggest referral hospital in Chiredzi. My heart bleeds to see it in such a state
today,” Gwanetsa said.
Ruth Hlongwani, matron of the hospital, said the
institution was grappling with various problems, including a lawsuit by the
national power utility Zesa over a $120 000 energy bill.
“This hospital was established in the 1940s by Free
Methodist Church. They, however, left the hospital to run on its own in the
1970s. It is a mission hospital in name only. Right now, it is struggling.
Recently, we were dragged to court by Zesa for a $120 000 debt.
“Our mortuary has since broken down, so relatives are
forced to collect bodies immediately after the death of their loved ones,” she
said.
The hospital has resorted to hard water from boreholes,
forcing hospital staff to hand-wash linen as some of its washing machines do
not function properly with hard water.
Hospital administrator Enias Zava told the officials that
the health institution was a referral centre for 17 clinics in Chiredzi, but
does not have a qualified pharmacist and that its dispensary was empty.
“We have very old and battered vehicles, which are no
longer reliable. Patients are leaving their hospital beds before they are
discharged because of the poor diet,” Zava said.
“On the issue of Zesa, we are going to ask for a reprieve
to allow us to make a payment plan, because we don’t have the money at the
moment.”
Gwanetsa donated new tyres for the ambulance, while
Matsilele donated his personal BP testing kit since the hospital did not have
one.
In March, senior health practitioners at government-run
institutions revealed that patients were dying owing to shortage of basic
medical equipment, medicines and other accessories as conditions in public
health institutions continue to deteriorate. Newsday
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