Mpilo Central Hospital, located in Bulawayo has cried foul over its failure to cater for the whole of Matebeland adequately due to acute shortage of staff and medication
Mpilo acting chief executive officer Leonard Mabhandi told Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko when he toured the institution on Friday that the hospital was severely understaffed as from the 2,996 posts available at the hospital only 1,678 were filled.
The hospital boss said the referral hospital was operating with 17 consultants out of the 40 required while also the 650 nurses at the institution could no longer cope with the pressure at one of the country's largest referral hospitals.
The Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr David Parirenyatwa, in response revealed that Mpilo was receiving only 37 percent of the drugs it needed.
In terms of specialists, Dr Parirenyatwa said "We've specialists but they're concentrated in Harare, we need them to come out to the eight provincial hospitals as well as district hospitals."
The health minister said there were plans to set up a new hospital in Bulawayo to ease pressure on the two referral hospitals as well as create employment for nurses.
Mpilo Hospital is owed $21 million by its clients including medical aid societies.
- Chronicle
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