Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]
THE country’s largest psychiatric hospital, Ingutsheni Central Hospital in Bulawayo has been hit by serious shortages of water, space and critical medication.
The mental health referral hospital provides psychiatric care to hundreds of patients, most of whom are drug and substance abusers.
The recent extension of water rationing to 120 hours in Bulawayo by the city council due to a decline in water levels at its supply dams, has worsened the situation at Ingutsheni Central Hospital.
Bulawayo has been grappling with water shortages for many years due to a combination of factors, which include rapid population growth, ageing infrastructure, and limited water resources.
The situation has been exacerbated by climate change and the unpredictability of rainfall patterns.
Speaking during a tour of Bulawayo hospitals by the city mayor, Councillor David Coltart, Ingutsheni Central Hospital staff members said the biggest male ward accommodates 159 patients yet its carrying capacity is 76.
They also highlighted that the Khumalo Ward had gone for days without water resulting in toilets being blocked, creating a health hazard amid fears of a cholera outbreak.
Clr Coltart said that collective efforts are needed to alleviate the challenges facing Ingutsheni Central Hospital.
“The main purpose of our visit to Ingutsheni Central Hospital was to get an understanding of the challenges at health institutions in the city. We don’t control them, but we needed to find out what their problems are and what the city council can do to assist,” he said.
“The situation at Ingutsheni is very worrying and we learned from the staff there that they don’t have basic medication and water cuts have adversely affected their operations. Khumalo Ward which has 159 patients doesn’t have any water and no anti-psychotic drugs.”
Clr Coltart said they are exploring ways of ensuring that Ingutsheni Central Hospital gets an uninterrupted water supply.
“What we need to convey is that we are facing a real crisis as our rivers haven’t started flowing and our dams are low. We also have a fluctuating power supply which has affected our ability to pump enough water from Ncema and Criterion,” he said.
“Ultimately we need to work closely with the Government to overcome this crisis and it will take a collective effort. We need to get Nyamandlovu working urgently and the pipeline from Mtshabezi to the pump station below Umzingwane. Those projects can be done within months even if we have a major drought we will still be able to deliver the basic amount of water.”
Bulawayo provincial medical director Dr Maphios Siamuchembu said: “We are lobbying Government for more hospitals, expansion of existing ones including expansion of wards such as Khumalo. We are lobbying for the provision of acute mental health care services at the district hospitals and primary health care facilities so that not everyone has to come to Ingutsheni.”
Dr Siamuchembu said the challenges at Ingutsheni Central Hospital were compounded by the fact that the institution is offering services for free.
“Ingutsheni treats patients free and therefore they have no source of money yet they have to feed all their patients. I think they are doing exceptionally well considering their precarious position and we can only lobby for more resources as the solutions lie in having more resources,” he said.
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