More than 100 student nurses at Masvingo Provincial Hospital nurse training school were forced to look for alternative accommodation outside the school precincts following the closure of halls of residence at the institution.
The facilities were condemned as unfit and unsafe for human habitation. At least 120 student nurses now have to commute to the hospital daily to attend classes.
Masvingo provincial medical director Dr Amadeous Shamu confirmed the closure of the halls of residence at the institution to The Herald but denied that the facilities were condemned. He said:
The reasons for the closure are not what you heard but I cannot say anything more because I am not allowed to speak to the press.
Meanwhile, a senior hospital official who refused to be named told The Herald that the entire institution has a faulty plumbing system. He said:
The whole hospital, including the provincial nurse training school, relies on a plumbing system that is outdated and in urgent need of an overhaul.
Major repair works are needed for the plumbing system to function normally again.
We had to close halls of residence at the nurse training schools because the state of the plumbing system no longer made it possible for people to stay inside.