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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
A MAJOR pathology laboratory is under construction at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) in Bulawayo whose impact is expected to be felt across the southern parts of the country through improved diagnostic services.

Currently, UBH uses three rooms where diagnostic tests are conducted.

Authorities believe the pathology centre which is under construction will be one of the largest at public hospitals in the country.

The pathology laboratory project had stalled for years and when President Mnangagwa visited UBH last year, he ordered that the project must be completed.

Once complete, more laboratory scientists will be recruited and a number of hospitals will benefit from testing services offered at UBH.

When a Chronicle news crew visited the referral hospital on Monday, construction was underway, with officials expecting the structure to be complete by year end.

UBH is undergoing a major transformation under the Second Republic in line with Government’s thrust to ensure health care is accessible to all.

Earlier in the year, the hospital’s paediatric unit was expanded to offer services that were only previously accessible at Mpilo Central Hospital.

UBH also houses Bulawayo Orthopaedic Hospital, the first of its kind in Zimbabwe and just the third in Southern Africa and treats children with deformities freely. It was opened by President Mnangagwa last year.

Government has also refurbished the Old Bartley’s Memorial Block (BMB) at the hospital to make it a 50-bed Covid-19 isolation centre with state-of-the-art equipment, which the president also opened last year.

UBH acting chief executive officer Dr Narcisius Dzvanga said they were excited to be constructing a laboratory of such magnitude.

“What you see there is a laboratory under construction.

It’s going to be one of the biggest laboratories in the country and it will improve service delivery in terms of pathology service in the region.

“It is going to house several departments that fall under the pathology department and offer pathology services,” said Dr Dzvanga.

He said the construction of the laboratory had stalled for years until President Mnangagwa intervened when he came to commission the Orthopaedic Centre and UBH Covid-19 isolation centre in May last year.

“The construction commenced a week ago, according to the work schedule we think that the superstructure will be complete by the end of December.

Subsequent to that, there will be room loading which means equipping the hospital.

And if all goes according to plan, we will see it functional by the end of 2023 or mid-year at the earliest.

They are working at a supersonic speed; we are impressed they mean business and we mean business as well,” he said.

“The President came to open BNB and open that children’s hospital, he said Dvanga I want to find that building higher than you. The President is aware of this, the Vice President is aware of this and the Ministry of Health and Child Care is aware of this.”

Dr Dzvanga said Government is funding the construction of the pathology laboratory and a private contractor has been engaged to build the structure.

UBH acting clinical director Dr Harrison Rambanapasi said the construction of the pathology laboratory is expected to transform healthcare delivery in the region.

He said as UBH is a referral hospital for other hospitals in Matabeleland region, referred patients will benefit from the tests that will be conducted at the laboratory.

“The challenge we have currently is that the hospital laboratory that we are using is very, very small in terms of the physical space that is available.

It is limiting the number of medical laboratory scientists that we can hire because they will all be squashed in small rooms,” said Dr Rambanapasi.

“It limits the number of machines that you can put in there to do a number of tests that are required for patients with various conditions.

So, the construction of this lab will give us more space and allow us to widen the scope of tests that we can do.”

He said the laboratory will also have enough rooms to accommodate health workers who will be on night duty.

“Basically, what I can say is this is one of the largest laboratories in Government hospitals,” he said.

Government has already completed the construction of the National Pathology Research and Diagnostic Centre at Midlands State University.

— -@nqotshili