Boost for surgeons

Herald reporter
The Surgical Society of Zimbabwe has received over US$92 000 from the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa to improve surgical skills among medical doctors in rural areas.The society’s president Mr Israel Dube told participants at a one-day seminar on the Zimbabwe Essential Surgical Training (Zest) programme that this initiative was created after it was realised that general medical officers in rural areas were not sufficiently equipped with the surgical skills necessary to address the shortage of qualified specialist surgeons in these areas.

He said this pilot programme would enhance the skills of general medical officers (GMOs) who required training in some surgical skills would help reduce overloading major referral hospitals and improve healthcare for patients in rural areas.

“The programme is quite critical for the country and it has enhanced the skills of our general medical doctors in the districts,” Mr Dube said. “We hope this initiative will build the capacity of our doctors in the districts where there is a serious shortage of qualified specialist surgeons.”

Major problems encountered in rural health-care institutions, he said, included inadequate initial assessment and resuscitation, referrals to wrong centres and poor initial healthcare which has led to unnecessary deaths or worsening of health conditions of some patients.