VP Chiwenga To Be Summoned to Parly Over Poor Heal...

VP Chiwenga To Be Summoned to Parly Over Poor Healthcare In Public Hospitals

Mudenda castigates citizens who speak ill of Zimbabwe - Bulawayo24 News — Speaker of the House of Asssembly, Adv Jacob Mudenda

Takunda Mandura

Parliament has requested the Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care, Rt Gen. Dr. Constantino Chiwenga, to present the Ministerial statement on poor service delivery in public hospitals.

This comes after Hon James Sithole raised a motion of national interest in parliament over Mpilo Hospital while the Speaker of Parliament, Adv Jacob Mudenda, confessed having a relative’s son who faced similar experiences at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals.

Hon Sithole lamented the lack of attention to the patients by the Mpilo Hospital staff as doctors prioritized their private patients.

"There are patients who have been in the queue for theatre since December 31, 2021, and they have not had the opportunity to be attended to. The reason is that each time their allocated dates arrive, excuses are given,” he said.

Doctors, the MP alleged, are demanding bribes ranging between US$300-US$700 so they can attend to patients who are due for theatre. What is of concern, he said, was that the same doctors can carry out procedures using the same theatres on their private patients without paying anything to the hospital.

“The same applies to medicines where the doctor writes a prescription and patients are supposed to be given medicine from the hospital dispensary, but they are told it is not available. However, the patients are asked to pay directly to nurses in the ward and, boom, the medicines are there,” lamented the MP.

He said pregnant mothers are being turned away when they go for scans as they are told there is no jelly but private patients are attended to.

Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda assured parliamentarians he would proceed to engage the Hon. Vice President and Minister of Health and Child Care to make a statement on the issue of health delivery in terms of delayed operations, particularly at central hospitals.

“I concur with you because I had a relative’s son admitted at Parirenyatwa with a broken arm. He could not be operated on for six months until I was informed and immediately called the hospital. Only then was the young man operated,” said the speaker.