DT Correspondent
Hundred year-old, St Paul’s Musami Mission Hospital in Mashonaland East is set to get a new lease of life as the Government has pledged to upgrade the hospital’s facilities and provide the necessary equipment to keep with contemporary medical facilities.
Five boreholes have already been drilled to provide a reliable water supply while an ambulance, x-ray machine, solar back-up, an industrial laundry machine will be delivered once all paper work has been done.
This follows a pledge made by President Mngangagwa last year during the St. Paul’s Musami Mission Hospital 100th year anniversary, where he was represented by Dr. Aplonia Munzverengwi, the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland East.
As promised, the Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora on Friday visited St Paul’s Musami Mission Hospital in Murehwa District, Mashonaland East Province on a fact finding mission to get an appreciation of the operational challenges affecting the health facility.
“Having listened to their grievances we have actually given them an ambulance because they actually reach out to about eight clinics and some of the roads are very difficult to maneuver so we have given them one fully equipped ambulance.
“Secondly; for them to operate such a big hospital without a functioning X-ray is very difficult so we have given them that equipment, the X ray is there at Natpharm and what we have asked them is to renovate the house where the X -ray will be put and once that is done, the machine will installed and it will be functioning,” he said.
Minister Mombeshora said all the hospital needed to do was submit an official request to have the donated items delivered
“They also need autoclave equipment and laundry equipment so we have asked them to find quotations and then we should be able to assist them.
“We are also looking at incineration and autoclave equipment and we are hoping that by the end of the year we will actually have given them an autoclave machine.
“Apart from medical supplies, Government is also working on ensuring that St Paul’s Musami Mission Hospital has uninterrupted power supply.
“We also put them on priority to have a dedicated ZESA line because as we speak they have five days without electricity and we have also asked our engineers to look at having solar power installed.
“Father Eugene Phiri , the local responsible authority for St Paul’s Musami Mission thanked the Government for coming to the rescue of the hospital.
The hospital has eight satellite clinics and serves a designated catchment area with a population of about 17 457 people consisting mainly of rural peasant farmers.
