News / National
Mnangagwa donates ambulance to Gwanda
21 May 2021 at 06:01hrs | Views
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has donated an ambulance to Gwanda Provincial Hospital as part of efforts to improve the country's health care services.
Speaking during a handover ceremony held at the hospital yesterday, Minister of State for Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs Abednigo Ncube expressed his gratitude to the President saying the ambulance will go a long way in easing challenges faced by the health institution.
He said Government is targeting to procure 200 ambulances for the country.
"We greatly appreciate His Excellency's generosity as he continues to show that he is a listening President who hears our cries and plight for assistance in improving our health referral systems in the province and other development matters. This shows that we have an action-oriented Government. A good reliable ambulance fleet is key in ensuring efficient referral along the health delivery levels from the lowest to the highest level.
"I'm reliably informed that the ambulance situation in the province continues to deteriorate as the existing fleet of ambulances is mostly beyond the recommended lifespan of 10 years and older and had become unreliable and costly to service," said Minister Ncube.
He said efforts to improve health service delivery within the province should not end with Government as other stakeholders had to pool together resources in order to augment Government's efforts. Minister Ncube said construction of a new provincial hospital and staff accommodation remained a priority in Government's agenda for improving service delivery. He urged the hospital administration to ensure that the ambulances are well serviced in order to prolong their life span.
Also speaking during the handover ceremony Matabeleland Provincial Medical Director (PMD) Dr Rudo Chikodzore said shortage of ambulances in the province had a severe impact on health services, especially now during the Covid-19 period.
"Out of 35 ambulances in the province, only nine are functional and this means each district is operating with one ambulance and this is grossly insufficient especially now during the Covid-19 pandemic where we need a dedicated ambulance for this particular service.
"We have recorded cases of loss of lives in the province as a result of shortage of ambulances. This donation therefore comes at a time when we really need it. As the provincial medical directorate we can't overemphasise our appreciation for this donation. We wish to extend our gratitude to the President for this assistance," she said.
Dr Chikodzore said 13 of these ambulances needed an overhaul which is highly costly for health institutions.
In her closing remarks, Gwanda Provincial Hospital board chairperson, Ms Judith Moyo also extended her gratitude to the President. She appealed to various stakeholders to assist the health institution with its outstanding challenges such as shortage of space and accommodation for staff.
Speaking during a handover ceremony held at the hospital yesterday, Minister of State for Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs Abednigo Ncube expressed his gratitude to the President saying the ambulance will go a long way in easing challenges faced by the health institution.
He said Government is targeting to procure 200 ambulances for the country.
"We greatly appreciate His Excellency's generosity as he continues to show that he is a listening President who hears our cries and plight for assistance in improving our health referral systems in the province and other development matters. This shows that we have an action-oriented Government. A good reliable ambulance fleet is key in ensuring efficient referral along the health delivery levels from the lowest to the highest level.
"I'm reliably informed that the ambulance situation in the province continues to deteriorate as the existing fleet of ambulances is mostly beyond the recommended lifespan of 10 years and older and had become unreliable and costly to service," said Minister Ncube.
He said efforts to improve health service delivery within the province should not end with Government as other stakeholders had to pool together resources in order to augment Government's efforts. Minister Ncube said construction of a new provincial hospital and staff accommodation remained a priority in Government's agenda for improving service delivery. He urged the hospital administration to ensure that the ambulances are well serviced in order to prolong their life span.
Also speaking during the handover ceremony Matabeleland Provincial Medical Director (PMD) Dr Rudo Chikodzore said shortage of ambulances in the province had a severe impact on health services, especially now during the Covid-19 period.
"Out of 35 ambulances in the province, only nine are functional and this means each district is operating with one ambulance and this is grossly insufficient especially now during the Covid-19 pandemic where we need a dedicated ambulance for this particular service.
"We have recorded cases of loss of lives in the province as a result of shortage of ambulances. This donation therefore comes at a time when we really need it. As the provincial medical directorate we can't overemphasise our appreciation for this donation. We wish to extend our gratitude to the President for this assistance," she said.
Dr Chikodzore said 13 of these ambulances needed an overhaul which is highly costly for health institutions.
In her closing remarks, Gwanda Provincial Hospital board chairperson, Ms Judith Moyo also extended her gratitude to the President. She appealed to various stakeholders to assist the health institution with its outstanding challenges such as shortage of space and accommodation for staff.
Source - chroncile
