$500k debt chokes hospital

Walter Mswazie Masvingo Bureau
Masvingo General Hospital is grappling with a $500 000 water and electricity debt amid fears the situation might affect operations at the province’s biggest health referral institution.

Authorities at the institution have since appealed to the Ministry of Health and Child Care to increase financial support to the provincial hospital.

Masvingo General Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Julius Chirengwa said the institution was battling to meet costs of its day-to-day operations because of a runaway utility bills debt.

The hospital has since embraced public-private partnerships in an attempt to improve the state of infrastructure at the institution.

“We are hamstrung by a debt for water and electricity, amounting to at least $500 000,” said Dr Chirengwa.

“In 2017, we received only $19 792 and the money was not enough to meet the costs we incurred. We have however, embraced puplic-private partnership arrangement where companies like Mimosa Mine assisted us in refurbishing our theatre.

“The Seventh Day Adventist Church also built a private ward, which will be open to the public soon and it also drill two boreholes to improve water supply at the hospital,” he said.

Besides a crippling debt, Dr Chirengwa said the referral hospital has only four running ambulances, which were not enough to cater for all the eight administrative districts serviced by the institution. The medical superintendent said the funding dearth was also affecting movement of the ambulances owing to the shortage of fuel.

“We appeal to Government to address the issue of accommodation, as a matter of urgency. We wish to have accommodation for our doctors, as it is expensive to rent houses for them.”

Dr Chirengwa said the hospital was facing a serious shortage of drugs forcing desperate patients to turn to private pharmacies. Turning to the staff complement at the institution Dr Chirengwa said the 11 doctors manning the institution were not enough while out of the 543 nurses required, the hospital has only 219.

On the drug supply situation, the hospital has 75,2 percent stocks of vital drugs, 47,1 percent essential drugs and 42,2 percent necessary drugs.

On a positive note, Dr Chirengwa said the hospital was recently thrown a lifeline by council which installed dedicated water supply pipes to make sure the institution has uninterrupted water supply.