VP Kachali makes surprise visit to Mwanza Hospital
The Vice President Khumbo Kachali on Thursday conducted a surprise tour of Mwanza district hospital where he inspected laboratory room, pediatric and maternity wards.
Speaking when he addressed staff members after the inspection, the Vice President applauded health workers for their commitment to work and for maintaining cleanliness around the hospital premises.
“I’m immensely pleased with this hospital, the staff are very committed to duty and the wards are very clean,” Kachali who is also Minister of Health told the gathering.
Committment
He therefore, urged health personnel at the hospital and the entire country to continue working hard to ensure a health nation which he said is vital for government to achieve its development programmes.
“I am proud of you, let us continue to work as a team and work very hard to impress upon the patients we serve, keep it up,” said Kachali.
He assured the medical personnel that the Peoples’ Party (PP) led government was committed to addressing challenges the health sector was currently facing in the country.
“Government is aware of all the challenges you’re facing and I would like to assure you that it is doing all it can to address the challenges,” said the Vice President. He cited shortage of staff, housing and transport among others.
He however, said whenever there are differences, staff and management should sit down and discuss amicably to find better solutions to address them.
Safemotherhood
On maternal and safe motherhood initiative, he thanked President Joyce Banda’s administration for championing the initiative which he said is helping to ensure survival of newborn babies and reduce maternal deaths.
Kachali said he was impressed to see that a lot of pregnant women were now delivering in hospitals; a development he said demonstrated that the President’s message on maternal and safe motherhood has trickled down to the grassroots.
He urged traditional leaders to embrace the idea of safe motherhood to see to it that no woman or child dies during birth in their areas.
“Traditional leaders should be in the forefront in promoting maternal and safe motherhood,” he said.
During the visit, the vice president donated K50, 000 to the couple that gave birth to quadruplets and pledged to donate an ambulance to the hospital to facilitate mobility.
Appeal
The District Health Officer (DHO) for Mwanza, Richard Piringu appealed to government to increase monthly fund allocation to the hospital to facilitate effective and efficient health delivery of services.
The hospital’s allocation is meant to cater for a population of 98, 000; but instead it caters for 240, 000 people, majority of them from neighbouring districts of Chikhwawa and Neno and Zobue in Mozambique, according to the DHO.
Piringu expressed concern over congestion at the maternity ward, a situation he said forces pregnant women to sleep on the floor as the hospital has no shelter for guardians and pregnant women.
“The hospital attends to an average of 300 women waiting for delivery per month,” he said.
He then commended government and well-wishers for the support they render to the couple of quadruplets.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
