Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo experienced food shortages last week which hospital insiders blamed on poor administration.
CITE reported hospital sources as saying dairy products, vegetables, and meat for relish were all in short supply. Said a source:
Bread is served every two days. The tea comes without sugar or milk; it’s just black tea.
Last week, there was one night where patients slept without supper – patients went without a meal for the whole night.
One day, lunch was served late. The isitshwala had no relish, so the hospital had to scramble to buy cabbage.
When asked for a response by CITE, Mpilo Hospital Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Narcisius Dzvanga said “a logistical error” had contributed to food shortages, but those had been resolved. He said:
It’s partly true. It was just a logistical error. We have the resources; it was just poor communication in the delivery system.
The hospital also experienced a power outage that reportedly resulted in babies being delivered in the dark because diesel for the generators was not stocked.
However, Dr. Dzvanga said the hospital did have power backup for all the hospital’s critical departments. He said:
Critical areas like the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU) are always invariably covered, including the delivery section for babies.
There is no such thing in my basket here (about babies delivered in the dark). We have some generators, and it can’t be true that Mpilo can be in total darkness. That’s a lie.
Dzvanga added that if such a situation occurred, he had not been briefed by staff. He said:
They haven’t told me anything along those lines, and I am in the office.
The CMO said the generators do not power plugs in parts of the hospital, which may cause some departments to go without electricity. He said:
Overhead bulbs will be on, but plugs will be failing to pull the power. However, people will never walk in darkness in Mpilo. We have enough generators, but they don’t power plugs.
Hospital insiders also told CITE that the hospital could not even draw blood as there were no laboratory services but Dzvanga said Mpilo was “acting on” procuring medical supplies such as chemicals used for running tests.
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