Expansion of Nswazi Clinic taking shape Ward 6 Councillor Amanda Khumalo

Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Mat South Bureau Chief

THE expansion of Nswazi Clinic in Umzingwane District is taking shape as efforts to avail more health care services to villagers intensify countrywide.

The clinic is being converted into a rural hospital so that it can service more people.

The Government under the Second Republic remains committed to improving healthcare services through building and revamping facilities.

More than 40 clinics and hospitals have been built across the country since 2018 while many more were upgraded.

Ward 6 Councillor Amanda Khumalo said Nswazi Clinic was being developed into a hospital.

“The expecting mother’s waiting room is now at roof level while the other buildings are also nearing completion. Our main objective is to turn Nswazi Clinic into a rural hospital as we need to service more people,” said Cllr Khumalo.

She said construction of an expecting mother’s waiting home, two wards and a shelter were at an advanced stage.

“Once completed, the facility will save a lot of lives that are unnecessarily lost due to transfers to either Esigodini or the United Bulawayo Hospitals,” said Cllr Khumalo.

The clinic covers wards 6, 7 and 13 with a catchment area of about 7 000 people.

“I think we’re moving towards the right direction considering that our clinic already meets some of the standards required for a hospital. After finishing all the construction works, we will then apply for hospital status,” said Cllr Khumalo.

United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH)

More than 20 health facilities are under construction in Matabeleland South Province as Government moves to improve access to health services.

The provision of quality health care services is one of the critical requirements for the country to attain an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

In the past, some people in the province’s rural areas used to walk up to 20 kilometres to access health services.

The Government has said its target is to ensure health facilities are as close to the people as possible.

Dr Rudo Chikodzero

Matabeleland South Provincial Medical Director Dr Rudo Chikodzero said most of the health facilities under construction in the province are almost complete.

“We have more than 20 health facilities that are under construction and most of them are almost complete. The challenge is that we will face staff shortages. We’re already facing shortages as many of our staff have left. This has affected our vaccination campaigns generally. Some of our trained and experienced staff who knew how to manage Covid-19 and had trained on vaccinations, have left. Where we had 10 staff members, for example, we’re left with two,” said Dr Chikodzero. — @Yolisswa

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