Kwekwe hospital gets staff bus

KWEKWE General Hospital has taken delivery of a 32-seater staff bus which will go a long way in addressing the hospital’s transport needs.

The development comes after district hospitals across the Midlands Province received equipment including ambulances, x-ray machines and service vehicles among other critical equipment.

The Government has also distributed a fleet of service vehicles to the Public Service Commission (PSC) in the province as it continues to capacitate public sector workers.

The move by the Government is expected to ease transport challenges for staff members as well as boost morale.

Handing over the bus on Tuesday, Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Owen Ncube said the Government remains committed to improving the welfare of health workers.

“A healthy and productive workforce is the basis upon which modernisation and industrialisation of our economy is anchored. As a Government, our commitment to the development of the health sector is steadfast and deserves appreciation by all stakeholders,” he said.

Minister Ncube said the gesture by the Government demonstrated its unwavering commitment to improve the health sector which plays a key role in the attainment of an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

“This is an affirmation of the Second Republic’s pro-people and listening leadership seized with improving mobility of health workers and timely health care delivery to our communities in line with the health for all by 2025 policy,” he said.

Minister Ncube also donated food items including mealie-meal, cooking oil and meat for both staff members and patients.

Kwekwe General Hospital medical superintendent, Dr Patricia Mapanda expressed gratitude to the Government for the gesture saying it will go a long way in boosting the workers’ morale.

She, however, pleaded with the Government to provide service vehicles to the hospital which is using one of the ambulances as a service vehicle.

“We don’t have a service vehicle nor do we have a vehicle for the medical superintendent. We are using one of our ambulances, which is supposed to be ferrying patients as a service vehicle,” said Dr Mapanda. She said the hospital was using an ambulance to transport food to the hospital and staff members use the same vehicle when they go out for business.

Dr Mapanda said Government should also prioritise the completion of doctors’ hostels.

“The construction of the doctors’ residence is taking ages because of lack of funding. As we speak they have just put a slab,” she said.

The doctors’ hostels were destroyed by fire in 2021 and Government has started construction of new hostels.