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Elizabeth Tsuro, Midlands Reporter
ZVISHAVANE District Hospital is owed over $100, 000 by patients and medical societies, a development that has seen the institution struggling to buy medical requirements.
Zvishavane District Medical Officer Dr Timothy Muvurayi told The Chronicle that as a government institution, they do not turn away patients when they come for treatment without money, but promises to settle the debts are largely not being honoured.
“I cannot give the exact figures but it’s quite a substantial fee of over $100,000 in unpaid medical bills. This is money owed to us by individual patients and those coming through the medical aid societies who accessed our services with promises of settling their medical bills later on. This is now resulting in us failing to re-tool things like medical supplies and other equipment,” he said.
Dr Muvurayi said it was necessary for patients to pay because the money was desperately needed by the institution.
“We usually refer those who cannot pay their hospital bills to the social welfare department but it has not been also honouring its bills for quite some time,” he said.
The District Medical Officer bemoaned the shortage of drugs at the institution, a problem faced by many hospitals countrywide.
He said their situation was made better though help they receive from the government and other organisations such as Mimosa Mine that have been helping through provision of new equipment.
Some medical institutions in the country have resorted to turning away patients without cash up front, a practice that has been discouraged by the government.
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