The hospital is a referral for Zhombe and Silobela. Redcliff and Kwekwe Councils also have no doctors and they refer patients to Kwekwe General Hospital.
The Kwekwe Medical Superintendent, Patricia Mapande, said the hospital was operating with six junior doctors instead of the required 13.
"I can attribute this to the unfavourable conditions that doctors are operating in. They are also receiving poor salaries and they cannot sustain their families," she said.
Mapande said the junior doctors were, however, willing to service all the areas but were appealing for incentives.
“Most doctors shun Kwekwe Hospital because there is an accommodation crisis. The six doctors are sharing the only three houses available with their families," she said.
Meanwhile, Mapande said the hospital may be forced to close the surgery section owing to non availability of autoclave machine used in the theatre.
"This is a serious issue and it needs to be treated as a matter of urgency. We will soon be closing the surgery section if the ministry does not provide finances to buy the machine," she said.
She added that the closure of the surgery would have an impact on Kwekwe and the surrounding community.
Post published in: Zimbabwe News