2 die as Dedza Hospital fuel crisis cripples ambulance services 

Two people are reported dead at Dedza District Hospital after the hospital failed to take them to Kamuzu Central for operations.

Sources  at the hospital said health facility is too broke to afford purchase fuel for its  ambulances.

“The situation is very critical here. The hospital is even failing to buy essential drugs, the hospital is failing to buy food forcing patients to go without food,” said the source.

District Health  Officer Dr Greyson Mathews attributed the financial crisis to budget cuts.

The hospital was supposed to get K27 million last month but got K20 million from the central The  government.

However, Elsie Tembo, Dedza District Commissioner said the hospital used all its monthly allocation at once.

She said the hospital was supposed to have its priorities right.

This comes at a time when it has been revealed that the controversial K4  billion development fund was realised after cuts from the ministry of Local government budget line.

About K350m was taken from the budget of  hospitals in councils, K750m was taken from the budget line for boreholes and K3 billion from road construction budget for Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre cities.