Online Reporter
Government should urgently avail funds to repair radiotherapy machines at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo. All the radiotherapy machines at the this hospital which is not only the referral hospital for Bulawayo but also for Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands and Masvingo provinces, are down.
Vice-President Kembo Mohadi was told this on Friday by Mpilo Central Hospital authorities who said the hospital was now referring cancer patients requiring radiotherapy to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare.
According to the hospital’s head of Radiotherapy Department, Dr Tatenda Chingonzoh, those referred to Parirenyatwa hospital have to wait for up to five months to be treated.
Vice-President Mohadi who said the obtaining situation at the hospital was unacceptable, directed Treasury to urgently address the problem.
“This hospital is not offering radiotherapy and we cannot allow this as Government. People are dying every day because as a Government we cannot avail US$100 000 required to repair these machines,” said VP Mohadi.
He said cancer patients were spending a lot of money to seek treatment in countries such as South Africa, India and other countries. Dr Chingonzoh said 50 percent of the cancer patients the hospital was attending to require radiotherapy which the hospital was not offering because the machines are down.
There is therefore an urgent need for Government to prioritise the repair of the machines as the lives of cancer patients are in danger. The worst affected are those already on treatment as interrupted treatment is more detrimental than not starting at all.
According to health experts, when radiotherapy is used to attack cancer cells they tend to come back more aggressively once treatment is interrupted. Four women die of cervical cancer in Zimbabwe daily and the disease burden has been worsened by high HIV prevalence.
This is a very alarming figure and something must be done to bring the figure down.
What this means is that about 120 women die of cervical cancer every month and more than 1 400 every year. The failure by Mpilo Hospital to repair radiotherapy machines is a major stumbling block to fighting cancers. Many cancer patients from the southern region are probably dying at home because their referral hospital, Mpilo, cannot offer radiotherapy.
We want at this juncture to appeal to our health partners to assist Government to avail more radiotherapy machines. The radiotherapy treatment should be decentralised to district level so that many patients can access the services at reduced cost.
At present radiotherapy machines are only in Bulawayo and Harare and obviously the machines are overwhelmed by the numbers seeking treatment. Cancer is said to be overtaking HIV as the top killer so there is need to provide more resources to fight cancer compared to what the country is availing to fight HIV/Aids.
The First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa has been on a crusade to educate women on cervical cancer and many women now appreciate the importance of being screened for cancer. What is disappointing is that those diagnosed with cancer are now failing to access treatment because the radiotherapy machines are too few.
