Online Reporter
Raymond Jaravaza Zimpapers Writer
MPILO Central Hospital has welcomed the appointment of Professor Solwayo Ngwenya by the Ministry of Health and Child Care as the substantive chief medical officer of the country’s second-largest referral hospital in the country.
The post fell vacant after former CMO, Dr Narcisius Dzvanga, retired on 25 December last year.
“This well-deserved appointment is a testament to your outstanding leadership, dedication to healthcare and unwavering commitment to excellence. Your vision, experience and passion inspire confidence that Mpilo Hospital will continue to reach greater heights under your stewardship. We are proud of you,” said Mpilo Central Hospital.
The appointment of Prof Ngwenya was announced yesterday in an internal memo to staff seen by Zimpapers.
“Professor Solwayo Ngwenya has been appointed to the new post of Chief Medical Officer for Mpilo Central Hospital, and has already assumed the duties of the office,” reads the memo.
Staff at the second-largest referral hospital in the country have since been urged to support the new substantive CMO.
“The Government of Zimbabwe, the patients and all our partners expect all of us to give our best to safeguard patient safety and well-being at all times, working together as a team with a shared goal of giving quality service delivery to our patients in a compassionate and dignified way,” reads the memo.
When the Ministry of Health and Child Care advertised the substantive post in February this year through a Health Services Commission vacancy circular, the post was described as one that reports directly to the Permanent Secretary and carries responsibility for providing strategic leadership and ensuring compliance with national health standards and regulatory requirements.
Prof Ngwenya was appointed acting CMO in December last year, a position he has held till he was handed the office on a substantive basis this week.
He is credited for tackling concerns of gross indiscipline, negligence, and theft at the hospital by making sweeping new practical changes that safeguard patients’ safety.
Supply of medicines at the hospital has improved, with patients no longer required to buy critical medicines while the institution continues to improve in its operations to reduce mortality rates.
Prof Ngwenya previously served as the hospital’s clinical director, managing the 1,000-bedded institution.
As clinical director, he headed all clinical departments, including schools of nursing and midwifery at the hospital and oversaw the training of nursing, midwifery, National University of Science and Technology (Nust) medical students, internship pharmacists, radiotherapists, therapists, dental doctors and postgraduate specialist training.
One of the highlights as a medical practitioner was when he led a team of doctors at the health facility successfully operated on two patients with massive pelvic masses – a 25 kg one in 2008 and another weighing 30 kg in 2023.
He is also credited with drastic changes to staff discipline and attitudes, leading to a dramatic improvement in the care of patients as well as the cleanliness of the hospital.
Prof Ngwenya also set up structures such as research committees that enabled Mpilo Central Hospital to be recognised as a centre of learning, teaching and research.
