Government says it is in the process of acquiring modern machines to conduct open-heart surgeries at major hospitals in the country, a lack of which has hindered specialised treatment.
This follows a series of children’s open-heart surgeries conducted recently at Parirenyatwa Hospital by specialist doctors from Egypt, as part of the government’s partnership programme.
For a country grappling with a poor health system, the programme was a shot in the arm for heart patients.
Speaking in Parliament recently, the Deputy Minister of Health, Sleiman Kwidini, said the government is procuring machines to decentralise open-heart surgery operations.
“We want you to bear with us that it is not yet at full capacity because of the staff attrition and other modern equipment which we are now procuring to make sure that it will be in full function. It will be decentralised in all our central hospitals, as you are aware that all our central hospitals have specialists who can perform these surgeries.
“What is now hindering them is the modern equipment to use for that, but definitely with time, we are going to make sure that it is going to be done to our locals and to our people for free,” said Kwidi.
The lack of medical equipment in major public hospitals has left many citizens to seek treatment outside the country.
However, the poor who cannot afford specialised treatment in foreign countries and private medical facilities have to contend with the dire services in public hospitals.
Kwidini made a bold assertion that the government is addressing the country’s healthcare systems.
“With that, as per our policy, we want to make sure that these trained specialist doctors locally are going to be capacitated, especially with the tools of trade.
“That is why we have seen now that our President has moved to the mantra to say, let us renovate our health institutions into the modern systems to ensure that we are able to do the specialised treatment which people are seeking on these major operations, especially in India and other countries,” said Kwidini.
