BULAWAYO - Nkayi district hospital has been operating without an ambulance for two years. The hospital is the largest referral centre, servicing 14 other clinics in the district. Due to the absence of an ambulance, patients cannot be transported to other referral centres when necessary.A visit revealed that the hospital was using a twin cab instead of an ambulance.
“The only ambulance that used to service the hospital and the other 14 clinics in the district broke down two years ago and nothing was done to repair it. After that we started using the twin cab as our ambulance, but it is not very convenient for that type of work. We therefore call upon the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to come to our rescue,” said an employee at the hospital.
The employee said that other problems facing the hospital included power cuts. The absence of electricity was affecting the supply of water to the district as the pump would not work. This has put patients and staff at risk of contracting disease.