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Congestion is now the order of the day at these institutions because expecting mothers are flooding the hospitals and clinics following the implementation of the directive to scrap the maternity fees.
Those mothers who had resorted to using traditional midwives and giving birth at home now throng the Government hospitals and council clinics to be attended to. This is now stretching resources at these institutions, compromising the service the expecting mothers are getting. There are reports that the hospitals and clinics are failing to cope resulting in some mothers sleeping on floors and benches.
There is now a funding gap because the hospitals and clinics cannot replenish their medical supplies because Government, which is supposed to pay them after providing free maternity services, is not doing so. It shows there was no proper planning before the scrapping of the maternity fees. Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Henry Madzorera says he never sanctioned the move to scrap maternity fees and we wonder who then issued the directive that has seen Government hospitals and council clinics attending to pregnant women free of charge.
While Minister Madzorera denies issuing the directive, Bulawayo City Council Director of Health Services Dr Zanele Hwalima confirms that council received a letter from the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, availing free services to maternity patients at municipal clinics and provincial hospitals with effect from 5 July 2012. We urge Minister Madzorera to get to the bottom of the matter with speed because we believe council and hospital officials did in fact receive the directive. It could be that some officials in the Ministry of Health issued the directive without proper consultation and there is now need to rectify the situation before disaster strikes at maternity clinics and hospitals.
The clinics and hospitals say they are now losing money — which is needed for their administration and other operations — because Government is not paying them. Bulawayo City Council says it is losing between $6 000 and $10 000 per month because of the scrapping of maternity fees. The local authority says it has not received adequate funding from Government to offer free maternity services. Mpilo Hospital chief executive Dr Wedu Ndebele says the scrapping of maternity fees had made it more difficult for the hospital to cope with the extra expenses.
A senior official at United Bulawayo Hospitals said the institution would not be able to sustain the
Lady Rodwell Maternity Hospital and would face serious financial constraints if Government did not avail money to cover the free treatment of pregnant women. Some decisions sound good but need thorough planning before implementing.
We also believe that maternity services should be provided for free to those women who cannot afford them at all while those who can afford should continue paying. Special Advisor to the President and Cabinet and former Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Timothy Stamps recently argued that Government’s decision to scrap maternity fees at State-run hospitals and clinics was a blunder because the move was not sustainable. Dr Stamps said the decision would worsen the country’s maternal mortality rate, which he said was already high.
The former Minister’s assertion is also worth considering. We urge Minister Madzorera to act without delay over this matter because we already have the same confusion in the health sector like the one obtaining in the power sector.
The Minister of Energy and Power Development Elton Mangoma has instructed Zesa Holdings to stop disconnections of electricity consumers with arrears pending the installation of pre-paid meters but Zesa technicians continue to disconnect its customers.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter