HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured) says education and health are at the top of the agenda for government, which is determined to reform and restore services devastated by 10 years of the economic mismanagement.Tsvangirai was on a tour of Harare Central hospital to assess progress made to revive the biggest referral hospital in the country.
He said he was happy with significant improvements in infrastructure and service delivery.
When I visited last March, it was like a ghost hospital. It goes to demonstrate that it is not just a question of money but also of commitment and a little resource will go a long way in achieving functionality, Tsvangirai said.
The situation at Harare hospital was almost a duplicate of Mpilo hospital facing the same problems and almost all the hospitals in the country. Im hoping that if we increase resources to these hospitals we should be able to restore their functionality so that we have a proper health delivery system, he said.
He said hospital infrastructure should be upgraded to ensure a delivery system that could help when there were outbreaks.
Harare hospital shut down last year and failed to cope with the cholera outbreak.
Hospital management told Tsvangirai that staff at the hospital were overstretched.
Accommodation for staff is needed urgently as this directly assists in staff retention. At least 300 staff need institutional accommodation to stabilise the critical areas. The new mortuary needs to be completed. This has been work in progress since 2001, said Jealous Nderere, Harare hospital chief executive.
The hospital still has no hot water supply due to broken down clarifiers. The air conditioning system in the theatres, main hospital and maternity [ward] needs to be replaced, as it is now dysfunctional, said Nderere.
Nderere said the neo-natal unit was still in need of incubators and equipment was needed in the intensive care unit.
A senior paediatrician at the hospital, Dr Robert-Grey Choto, said his unit urgently required a heating system, and that they were operating far below capacity due to a shortage of nurses.
Around $43,000 worth of equipment has been ordered but is yet to be installed.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister received 155 wheelchairs, donated by Wish Kids International, to be shared between Harare Central, Chitungwiza and Parirenyatwa hospitals.
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