Kamuzu Central Hospital has become a death trap: ‘Dispensing expired drugs’

The health care system  at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe has turned the facility into a death trap with  Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Health Juliana Lunguzi  alleging that the use of expired drugs equipment is crippling the hospital’s operations.

A nurse by profession, Lunguzi pointed out that the health of patients may be compromised through consumption of expired drugs.

Lunguzi and her committee toured the hospital on Tuesday on a fact-finding mission to appreciate challenges the referral hospital in facing.

“It is unfortunate that Kamuzu Central Hospital cannot handle  serious emergencies,” said Lunguzi who is also Malawi Congress Party (MCP) member of Parliament (MP)for Dedza East.

Doctors at KCH are reportedly diagnosing patients using guess work due to lack of essential equipment and the  hospital’s laboratory equipment is most times not functional.

The diagnosis machines such as the computerised tomography (CT) scan and full blood count (FBC) machine, have not been working consistently at KCH, forcing doctors to guess patient’s ailments or ask them to seek diagnosis from other hospitals.

KCH also has no oxygen concentrated machines and only has one X-ray machine serving patients from the central region districts.

The hospital director Dr. Jonathan Ngoma  admitted they were facing  “serious challenges.”

While taxpayers are struggling to access treatment, with some obviously dying in the process, those responsible for the mess [including cashgaters] easily access treatment in private hospitals elsewhere.