Online Reporter
Victor Maphosa
Mashonaland East Bureau
AN upgrade of Mutawatawa Hospital, which includes the renovation of a mothers’ waiting shelter in the vast Uzumba Maramba Pfungwe (UMP) District, has been completed, transforming healthcare delivery for the community.
The initiative is part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to modernise key infrastructure and enhance health service delivery for citizens.
The Government also renovated the theatre wing at the hospital, which is now open to the public.
District Medical Officer for UMP, Dr Gladman Tendai Mubonani, said the renovations will ensure quality health service for the people of UMP.
“Mutawatawa District Hospital received a grant to renovate its mothers’ waiting shelter, the X-Ray department and also the theatre wing. These were extensive renovations. This is a great development in the area because our waiting mothers were using a substandard shelter and this was even affecting their health outcomes.
“So with the coming in of the newly refurbished mothers’ waiting shelter, we expect to improve the quality of care and even attract mothers from hard-to-reach areas who have been experiencing challenges in accessing maternal and child health services,” Dr Mubonani said.
He also said the renovations at the theatre department came at the right time, saying the developments will again go a long way in improving health care delivery to the people.
“When it comes to the theatre, it was an old theatre built in 1998 when the hospital was constructed. It was outdated and had old equipment. The grant enabled us to have new equipment like anaesthetic machines, new operating tables, lights and other equipment.
“So it was a complete renovation of the theatre. They changed floors, the water supply system, the power supply system and other important aspects of the theatre. We can now boast of a modernised theatre which can deliver quality healthcare to our clients.
“Before the renovations, we could only conduct one operation at a time. But the renovations enabled expansion of the services, we now have two anaesthetic machines, two tables and two fully purpose-built operation rooms, meaning we can now do two operations simultaneously.”
He said the developments have reduced the waiting period for pregnant mothers and also improved both maternal and baby outcomes.
Dr Mubonani said they also received a new X-Ray machine at the hospital, which is a plus to their operations.
“For the radiology department, we received a brand new, modernised artificial intelligence empowered X-Ray machine. We are now able to do a lot of images in a day. We used to have an old analogue machine which had constant breakdowns and we also had challenges in sourcing the parts. This was affecting our clients as they had to travel to Murewa districts to have their X-Rays done.
“This new development has improved the waiting and diagnosis time for the patients. So we would like to thank the Government of Zimbabwe and its development partners like World Bank for this great support they have extended to our district.”
Mutawatawa is the only district hospital in UMP.
