Govt hospitals in dire need of drugs

19 Mar, 2017 - 00:03 0 Views
Govt hospitals in dire need of drugs

The Sunday Mail

That hospital smell!

Have you ever walked into a hospital and you are welcomed by a strong smell? Those in the know call it the iodoform smell.

Iodoform is a disinfectant used in hospital that gives it a distinctive smell-the hospital smell.

A few days ago, I went on a mission. A hospital mission if you like and my first port of call was the Harare Central Hospital.

As soon as I walked through Harare Central Hospital (HCH)’s glass doors, the smell of sickness, helplessness, confusion, fear, uncertainty and anxiety flooded my senses.

The hospital walls, made of magnolia were clearly calling for attention. Outdated pictures hang of the walls fighting for space with several notices.

The outpatients department (OPD) was crammed with patients on wheelchairs. It’s really a sorry sight.

As if that was not enough, some patients were lying on hospital benches hoping that they would soon be attended to.

Masquerading as a patient at Harare Hospital around 10pm, I joined a long and winding queue to get an admission card. Following the queue silently and pretending to be sick, I overheard two young men complaining about the fees charged to access the services they required.

“Why are you here again? Wasn’t the appendix surgery done?” asked a young man wearing a white T-shirt.

“My brother is in ICU so they asked me to pay for a cross-matching test so they ascertain his blood group,” answered another young man with a T-shirt printed Leekay at the back.

“But why ask for cross-match now?”

“Umm, I’m not sure.”

I then asked one of them. “But how was the surgery done without the surgeons not knowing his blood group?”

“They told me that it’s a different doctor who is asking for the cross-match,” he answered.

I then thought to myself, isn’t that information supposed to be in his file?

“So how much are you paying for the cross-match and why do they need your brother’s blood group?” I asked again.

“Cross-match is $20. They need the blood group so they can transfuse him some blood to which I was told I am supposed to pay $150. Haa madhiri ekungovharana cash aya (It’s only a matter of reaping us off),” he responded.

The cashier then shouted “next.”

I walked to the cashier and produced my medical aid card and was told that they needed my current pay slip. I asked why?

The cashier told me that they do not have the code to access the medical aid system and if I didn’t have the payslip I was supposed to pay $12 for me to be attended to.

From the cashier, the service was swift – When I got to the doctor’s consultation room, I pretended to have a fever though my vital signs indicated otherwise.

The doctor then prescribed ibuprofen for me. Again I joined the staggering queue at the hospital pharmacy.

However, the service was much faster than I had anticipated. But then to my shock, this was because the pharmacy did not have the drugs that most of the people wanted.

One gentleman left the pharmacy counter frowning and uttered words of disgruntlement, “This is no longer a pharmacy! Why don’t you just shut it down when you don’t have the required drugs,” he complained.

I followed him and politely asked him which drugs he wanted and he just handed me the prescription — as usual the doctor’s handwriting was not legible.

I sympathised with him and wished his patient well.

I then rushed back to the queue and luckily for me my ibuprofen was available.

Health workers went on strike on February 15 which saw a number of people losing lives during the stand-off. However, they resumed work on March 6, 2017 after Government agreed to meet some of their demands.

Government unfroze posts for both nurses and junior doctors, agreed to revise upwards on-call and night duty allowances and offered an employer-assisted car loan scheme instead of duty-free vehicle import scheme.

I then proceeded to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals where the situation was almost the same as at Harare Hospital. Doctors were attending to patients but the major setback was the of lack of drugs.

As a pre-emptive measure, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals has put up signs around the casualty and out patients department explaining their drug shortage ordeal. Part of the notice reads, “Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals strives to provide all the necessary drugs in its pharmacies at reasonable prices. However, due to factors beyond the institutions’ control, the hospital is sometimes not in a position to provide some drugs . . .”

The notice then goes on to advise patients and attendants to seek unavailable drugs outside the hospital.

The same situation prevailed at Chitungwiza Central Hospital (CCH) — the hospital pharmacy does not have most of the required drugs and medicinal consumables.

However, CCH has come up with a plan B.

“It’s very rare that we don’t get required drugs at CCH. If the hospital pharmacy doesn’t have, we always get them at the private pharmacy situated at this hospital,” explained one lady.

“However, our main worry is that of pricing. If the hospital pharmacy had all the required drugs I know we would get them cheaper.”

Though it is difficult for a health institution to thrive under harsh economic conditions, CCH has managed to defy all odds by prospering and exhibiting excellence in service delivery surpassing some private institutions through its joint venture partnerships.

CCH chief executive, Dr Obadiah Moyo, said joint venture partnerships have enabled rehabilitation of most hospital sections that were dilapidated.

“While the hospital is supposed to benefit from the national budget funds, the health sector is underfunded and we can’t be spared hence the hospital resorted to operating in partnership with the private sector,” explained Dr Moyo.

“We always work outside the box. We just don’t sit back and wait for the Government to fund us, hence we won’t get tired of begging. We will continue begging as long as it is for our benefit,” added Dr Moyo.

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