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Thandeka Moyo, Health Reporter
BULAWAYO is set to have another hospital to ease pressure on Mpilo Central and United Bulawayo Hospitals which are heavily burdened with patients.

The two referral hospitals cater for emergency and complicated cases from the southern region which includes Bulawayo, Masvingo, Midlands, Matabeleland North and South provinces.

Members of the public are flooding both institutions, even with minor health issues, which jeopardises the health delivery system for those with serious ailments.

Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube said the hospital would be in Luveve suburb and offer primary health care.

She declined to give a date for commencement of construction work saying some logistics had to be put in place first.

Minister Ncube said consultations were underway with potential land developers to map the way forward.

“We want to engage stakeholders including residents who should give an input to what exactly they want from the hospital,” she said.

“We need another hospital to help decongest Mpilo and UBH which are currently tackling minor health issues. Ideally these two hospitals are meant to cater for conditions that need specialists for five provinces,” she said.

According to Minister Ncube, all is in order and interested stakeholders would be consulted in due course.

Meanwhile, Minister Ncube said five South African doctors have been engaged for Ekusileni Hospital which may open anytime from now.

“I am not going to give an exact date so that I am not accused of lying to the people. All I can say is that we are at advanced stages and we are engaging specialists for Ekusileni which will open very soon,” she added.

The specialist hospital was built in 2001 as a brain child of the late Vice President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and was shut down in 2004 shortly after opening its doors to the public.

This was after it was discovered that the acquired equipment, worth millions of dollars, was obsolete.

Ekusileni has been undergoing renovations over the past two years due to the damage on infrastructure caused by termites and dereliction.

– @thamamoe.