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Patrick Chitumba Senior Reporter—
LACK of equipment and drugs is causing preventable deaths of infants and women giving birth at Mpilo Central Hospital, a paediatrician at the institution has said. Dr Mary Nyathi said some wards were not functioning due to resource constraints, while blaming some of Mpilo’s troubles on misplaced priorities.

In her contribution on Wednesday during a visit to the institution by the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Child Care chaired by National Assembly member Dr Ruth Labode, Dr Nyathi spoke of unnecessary deaths that are recorded due to lack of resources.

“Some mothers are dying at the institution because of the unavailability of small surgical devices. The hospital at times has no syringes which cost 50 cents,” she said.

“The hospital should be equipped to deal with maternity cases but that is not the case. Such necessary things like intravenous (IV) fluids (for rehydration of mothers) are not there and some die during or after labour.”

Dr Nyathi said infants were dying because of the unavailability of instruments like scopes to remove antibodies.
“A child with simple antibody dies because there is no scope to take it out. These are the small things which we must be having,” she said.
Dr Nyathi said other wards at the hospital were not working, a situation she said was affecting effifient service delivery.

“We’re supposed to function as a central hospital but other wards are not working. I think it’s not just the issue of resources here, but of priorities,” she said.

Dr Lawrence Mantiziba, Mpilo’s chief executive officer, said out of the 12 operating theatres at the institution, only four were working.
“Antibiotics and other drugs we don’t have. We also don’t have syringes and bed sheets,” he said.

He said the institution was owed over $10 million by patients and more than $2 million by the government as of December last year.
“We also owe companies and suppliers of which some are threatening legal action if we don’t pay them,” Dr Mantiziba said.

A Mpilo hospital surgeon Dr Nichodimus Kadumbo, said it was painful to prepare a patient for surgery only to be told by nurses that there was no gas or other surgical instruments or Betadine.

“We also have some surgeons in private practice who offer their services here for free. They come here wanting to perform surgery but are told that there are no drugs or gas. It’s very sad. They are such small drugs and medical devices which don’t cost much but are not there,” he said.

Last month, Mpilo temporarily suspended all surgical procedures due to a critical shortage of drugs and operating theatre equipment.
Apart from the lack of resources that have been blamed for unnecessary deaths, recent reports have also cited negligence on the part of some medical staff at the institution.

The Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court is yet to conclude an inquest into the death of Samantha Shingirai, who died hours after giving birth on March 14, 2012, due to alleged negligence.

There are allegations that there were delays in attending to the woman, although a midwife had indicated that her situation needed urgent surgery.