The Sunday Mail
Investigations Editor
HARARE Central Hospital is not offering critical services such as computerised tomography (CT) scans, ultrasound scans and some medical tests due to a lack of essential ingredients and broken down equipment, it has been established.
This has worsened an already dire situation since the hospital is also facing an acute drug shortage.
As one of the country’s major referral hospitals, the institution is supposed to cater for patients who cannot afford to visit private hospitals. Patients from in and around Harare are referred to the hospital for treatment and medical tests.
Doctors at Harare Central Hospital described the situation as desperate.
The Sunday Mail witnessed patients’ relatives bringing in drugs and other medical essentials during visiting hours.
Health and Child Care Minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa admitted that the situation at major hospitals is dire but was quick to mention that Government was making urgent interventions to improve the health sector.
“We want the quality of health care to improve but that requires more resources,” he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa said Treasury should allocate more money to the health sector to enable his ministry to meet the demand of drugs and other critical equipment in hospitals.
“At Government hospitals, we charge nominal fees and that money is not enough to buy drugs and equipment. That means that Government must give us more money, that is the answer,” he explained.
The hospital’s chief executive officer, Mrs Peggy Zvavamwe said the drug situation has improved slightly and a CT scan will be supplied soon. However, she could not elaborate on the dates.
“Things are improving slowly since we have just started the year. The food situation is not bad either, it’s reasonably ok,” she said.
“We don’t do all the tests but we surely do some and we have some of the ingredients needed for tests. People should not try to find fault where there is none.”
However, medical practitioners insisted that patients are suffering due to a biting shortage of drugs.
Last month, Mrs Zvavamwe pampered herself with a luxurious Jeep Grand Cherokee worth about US$88 359. This sparked fury among hospital staff – medical and non-medical – who protested against Mrs Zvavamwe’s extravagance at a time when the hospital is struggling to pay service providers and purchase drugs.
The hospital staff is pushing for the repossession of the vehicle so that it be sold and the money diverted towards purchasing medical essentials.
A senior doctor who cannot be named for professional reasons said the hospital is “basically grounded in terms of offering services because patients are being asked to buy their own medication and do tests in expensive health institutions”.
“There is nothing at the hospital, not even the most basic things. We can’t run tests because there are no ingredients. Some of the equipment has since broken down. We can’t do much except to just write prescriptions and it’s up to the patients to buy what’s needed to save their lives. It’s a desperate situation,” said the doctor from Harare Hospital.
The Sunday Mail caught up with the Dube family whose close relative — Mr Morgan Dube — was admitted at the institution for two weeks.
Mr Dube was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma cancer but he had to go to a private hospital for the chest and abdomen CT scan. A private hospital in the Avenues area charges about US$600 for a CT scan while another health facility in the northern suburbs demands US$400 per scan. For a needle used in biopsy to draw body tissues, Mr Dube was charged US$120.
A CT scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside the body. CT scan images provide more detailed information than plain X-rays do. Mr Dube also needed to replenish blood levels but Harare Hospital did not have any blood stocks therefore he was forced to part with US$450 for three pints of blood bought from the National Blood Transfusion Services. Doctors at the hospital said under normal circumstances, the institution is supposed to provide the blood. When he went Parirenyatwa Hospital for chemotherapy, Mr Dube faced the same problem and had to buy all the required drugs, drips and other essentials. For a second level chemotherapy, the doctors have already advised him to bring all the essentials for the process.
Another doctor who declined to be named for professional reasons said, “What Mr Dube went through is a representation of what all the patients are going through.
‘‘The hospital is supposed to be providing for all the services, drugs and tests but things are different now patients must also improve,” said another doctor.
