Chronicle Editor
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
THE National University of Science and Technology (Nust)’s medical school has finally moved into Ekusileni Medical Centre in a development that has operationalised one wing of the giant institution that has been lying idle.
The institution which is run by the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) with Nust providing technical expertise got Cabinet approval in 2020 for it to be transformed into a specialist teaching and research hospital under the university.
The medical centre, which officially opened in 2021 after 17 years of false starts, is the brainchild of the late Vice- President Dr Joshua Nkomo, who envisioned ordinary people accessing specialist medical care.
When it opened it was catering for Covid-19 patients only before the Cabinet decision to turn it into a specialist medical training and research school under the Nust Medical School.
However, since the Cabinet decision for Nust to take over, there has been no movement in terms of operations, which had even seen staff members who fell sick being forced to look for medical treatment at other institutions.
Speaking after touring the facility recently, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Cde Simelisizwe Sibanda confirmed that the university has since moved into the medical centre and one wing had since been operationalised.
“With regards to Ekusileni, the Government made a good decision where they said Nust Medical School takes over the running of the hospital. The pace in terms of operationalising the hospital has, however, been slow because of some arrangements between Nssa and Nust. There were some things that had to be done in terms of handover.
“Nust has since moved in there, there is a wing that is already operational but there is a lot that still has to be done in terms of resourcing that institution. There is nothing there in terms of equipment,” said Deputy Minister Sibanda.
He said, once fully operational, the medical centre will play a very big role in making sure that the health delivery system in the country is vastly improved, also contributing to the country’s economy through medical tourism.
“There is a task that I have left with Nust. They have to come up with fundraising mechanisms so that they equip the hospital. We are aware that people are worried about the state of that hospital.
“We expect that by mid-year they should have held some fundraising activity. There is a shopping list that they have developed, which we will share with all the stakeholders that are interested in making sure that the hospital is fully operationalised,” said the Deputy Minister.
Once fully operational, the state-of-the-art facility is set to provide an opportunity for students to undertake the necessary training and cutting-edge health research, while providing a service to the nation.
The medical facility whose construction was completed in 2001, operated for just seven months before it was closed in 2004 after it was discovered that the acquired equipment worth millions of dollars, was obsolete.
Online Reporter