News / Health
Ekusileni Medical Centre opening to be decided today
16 Jul 2021 at 07:28hrs | Views
THE decision on the opening of Ekusileni Medical Centre will be made today when an inspection team from the Health Professions Authority (HPA) presents a report on its findings following an assessment of the facility.
The team comprising 15 members, among them doctors, yesterday visited Ekusileni Medical Centre to conduct an assessment on whether the health facility is ready to operate.
Government on Tuesday announced that the medical facility, which has been designated as a Covid-19 centre, is now 90 percent complete.
Reporting on projects undertaken under the 7th 100 Day Cycle Programme, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the hospital was near completion.
Plans are now at an advanced stage to reopen the hospital with a 50-bed capacity which will further boost Bulawayo province's fight against the pandemic.
The institution, whose buildings are owned by the National Social Security Authority (Nssa), has experienced several false starts.
Ekusileni was closed more than 15 years ago when its equipment was declared obsolete. The health facility, which was supposed to be a specialist hospital, is a brainchild of the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo.
When a Chronicle news crew visited the institution yesterday, the hospital management was locked in a closed-door meeting with the inspection team.
In an interview soon after the meeting, the acting chief executive officer of Ekusileni hospital Dr Absolom Dube said they were now waiting for the inspection team's report which will be presented verbally today.
"We had a team of 15 members from the Health Professions Authority (HPA), which visited our hospital and they will present the report on their findings tomorrow (today). As far as we are concerned, Ekusileni is ready to start operations because most of the work has been completed," he said.
Dr Dube said they intend to start with a 50-bed capacity and increase the capacity later. He said the hospital will initially admit Covid-19 patients only.
"The hospital will be attending to Covid-19 related emergencies only but in future will offer other health services," said Dr Dube.
He said he was optimistic that the hospital will open soon.
Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital, the United Bulawayo Hospitals and Mater Dei Hospital are the health institutions admitting Covid-19 patients in Bulawayo.
Last year, Government announced that the hospital will be transformed into a specialist teaching research hospital under the National University of Science and Technology (Nust), with Nssa tasked with operationalising the facility.
The team comprising 15 members, among them doctors, yesterday visited Ekusileni Medical Centre to conduct an assessment on whether the health facility is ready to operate.
Government on Tuesday announced that the medical facility, which has been designated as a Covid-19 centre, is now 90 percent complete.
Reporting on projects undertaken under the 7th 100 Day Cycle Programme, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said the hospital was near completion.
Plans are now at an advanced stage to reopen the hospital with a 50-bed capacity which will further boost Bulawayo province's fight against the pandemic.
The institution, whose buildings are owned by the National Social Security Authority (Nssa), has experienced several false starts.
Ekusileni was closed more than 15 years ago when its equipment was declared obsolete. The health facility, which was supposed to be a specialist hospital, is a brainchild of the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo.
In an interview soon after the meeting, the acting chief executive officer of Ekusileni hospital Dr Absolom Dube said they were now waiting for the inspection team's report which will be presented verbally today.
"We had a team of 15 members from the Health Professions Authority (HPA), which visited our hospital and they will present the report on their findings tomorrow (today). As far as we are concerned, Ekusileni is ready to start operations because most of the work has been completed," he said.
Dr Dube said they intend to start with a 50-bed capacity and increase the capacity later. He said the hospital will initially admit Covid-19 patients only.
"The hospital will be attending to Covid-19 related emergencies only but in future will offer other health services," said Dr Dube.
He said he was optimistic that the hospital will open soon.
Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital, the United Bulawayo Hospitals and Mater Dei Hospital are the health institutions admitting Covid-19 patients in Bulawayo.
Last year, Government announced that the hospital will be transformed into a specialist teaching research hospital under the National University of Science and Technology (Nust), with Nssa tasked with operationalising the facility.
Source - Chronicle
