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Sukulwenkosi [email protected]
CIMAS Health Group has recorded significant strides in promoting access to improved healthcare services through the provision of state-of-the-art health facilities such as laboratories, clinics, specialised dental and dialysis clinics, and evacuation and rescue services across the country.
Speaking during a tour of their facilities in Bulawayo Cimas Health Group Chief Marketing Officer, Mrs Tatenda Madzikanda said they have come in to augment the Government’s efforts in improving the country’s health care sector which is one of the key deliveries in the attainment of Vision 2030.
Cimas has partnered with the Zimbabwe Union on Journalists (Zuj) to make the media appreciate the group’s work and help inform and educate the citizens about health cover.
The tour included a visit to a refurbished Cimas medical laboratory, a dental unit which was established in October last year following requests from members of the public and a Cimas Clinic.
The clinic offers GP consultation services, in house pharmacy and a baby clinic. The first Cimas Clinic was established in 2004 in Harare.
Cimas accounts for 60 percent of the private pathology tests being conducted in the country.
“Our understanding is that our population is growing and we also need to grow the number of facilities so that members can have access to quality health services. We are complementing the existing infrastructure that has been put in place by Government and other healthcare players.
“Our catchment area for the Bulawayo facilities covers the region of Matabeleland and it’s our goal to ensure that our clientele from this area can get health services from local facilities. We don’t want a situation whereby clients have to travel all the way to Harare to access particular services. We want our services across all facilities in the country to be above board. We recently established a branch in Matabeleland North and we want to develop it so it can house all necessary services,” she said.
Mrs Madzikanda said their target is to raise awareness of the services offered by Cimas Medical Aid Society to enable them to widen their clientele. She said an increase in their clientele will enable the organisation to establish more branches across the region.
Cimas Health Group chief operating officer Mrs Thando Kembo said the media has an important role to play in highlighting health care and access issues and disease burden for improved health outcomes.
She said people have to be educated on the importance of acquiring health cover.
“As Cimas our purpose is to inspire healthier communities by providing global standard health and wellness solutions. We are more than a healthcare funder we are into wellness and healthcare. We have taken a deliberate move to invest in health care by ensuring that we don’t only offer financial support but state-of-the-art facilities where we can meet the healthcare needs of not only our clients but the general public.
“We are still developing but we are proud to be playing a part in changing the health care landscape. We need the numbers to support the business so that we may establish branches in smaller towns,” she said.
The health institution has opened 14 primary healthcare clinics countrywide to enhance access to health closer to communities. Cimas was established in 1945 and 79 years later the group boasts of close to 60 facilities countrywide including laboratories, specialised dental and dialysis clinics, evacuation and rescue services and others. The facilities are dotted around the country in major urban areas.
The first Cimas facility was Medlabs which was set-up in 1985 in Harare and remains the main laboratory followed by the recently refurbished state-of-the-art lab in Bulawayo where between 3 000 and 3 500 clients are attended to every month.
Cimas now has six fully fledged labs and collection centres bringing to 15 the total number of laboratories.
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