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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Health Reporter
THE situation at the Mpilo Central Hospital maternity wing is improving with reports that daily deliveries have gone down to an average of 30 daily despite skeletal staff running the public institution.

According to officials, maternal and child mortality rates are under control regardless of the circumstances mothers are subjected to.

Mpilo, which has a maximum of 20 delivery beds, has been over the past weeks attending to hundreds of women flocking the institution since United Bulawayo Hospitals was set aside for Covid-19 admissions only.

This arrangement is valid until designated health centres which are all undergoing renovations are ready to admit Covid-19 patients.

Both Mpilo and UBH are the major referral hospitals that service Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland North and South provinces. This has led to an increase in the number of women going to Mpilo to deliver, a situation which has been worsened by the ongoing nationwide nurses strike. The national nurses strike enters day 70 today.

Two weeks ago, the institution was recording about 42 deliveries and some of the women would deliver while seated on benches due to congestion and inadequate staff members.

On normal days before the lockdown, Mpilo would help a maximum of 25 women deliver normally and through the Caesarean section daily.

Mpilo acting chief executive officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said although the situation was improving, nurses were needed to resume their duties to help the few health care workers who are attending to the scores of women.

“We continue to help women at Mpilo even though we are faced with a number of challenges. Our daily deliveries are now around 30, the figure is still higher than our capacity but we are happy because we are not recording as many deaths as anticipated,” said Professor Solwayo Ngwenya.

“We appeal to nurses to come back to work so that we continue saving lives, it’s hard but we are trying our best. Of note is the fact that despite working under pressure with limited staff members, our maternal mortality rates are still as low as usual since we record zero or at most one death per week,” he said.

He said a few nurses had returned to work which eased the burden.

“We are still experiencing many patients who are coming to deliver, the workload is too much but we are trying to deliver healthcare services. Nurses should engage the Government so that they finalise on their grievances and return to work so that they help ease the pressure in our public facilities,” added Professor Ngwenya.

One of the women, Ms Nothando Sibanda who gave birth at Mpilo on Monday said she had delivered while seated on the bench waiting to be served.

She said there were only two nurses who were serving women in labour, both inside the wards and those who were seated on benches.

She added that the situation was so dire to the extent that women were being discharged soon after giving birth to create space for others. — @thamamoe