HARARE Central Hospital yesterday claimed that it had resumed all surgical operations after receiving adequate stocks of essential drugs at the weekend.
Source: Harare Central Hospital resumes operations – NewsDay Zimbabwe September 20, 2016
BY PHYLLIS MBANJE
The referral hospital had last week suspended surgical operations due to an acute shortage of drugs such as morphine, pethidine and antibiotics.
“It was a temporary measure which we instituted to give ourselves time to secure more supplies. By 3pm on Friday, we had 1 000 doses of morphine and we have since received 1 000 more,” the clinical director, George Vera, said.
“There was a lot of panic on Friday. I received many phone calls with people anxious to know what was happening.
“We prioritised maternity and emergency cases and we also informed institutions that intended to send patients to consult with us first.”
An internal memorandum signed by the hospital’s head of the anaesthetics department, Harunavamwe Chifamba, which was leaked to the Press last week, confirmed the drugs shortages and suspension of operations.
“Due to the critical shortages of pethidine, injectable morphine, fentanyl, adrenaline, sizes 3.0, 3.5, 4.5, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, ETT, metachlopramide, sodium bicarbonate and antibiotics, it was decided after consultation with the clinical director, heads of surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology and consultant anaesthetists, that we suspend all elective surgeries for the time being,” read part of Chifamba’s memo.
Chifamba could not be reached for comment yesterday.
COMMENTS
Wonderful now that the hospital has morphine but presume it is short of aspirin and no water or electricity.?
This is why Robert G Mugabe travels to Singapore – it appears hospitals in Zimbabwe are only for the little people or povo some would say
Salisbury/Harare Central hospital was renowned as one of best medical facilities in Africa in 1980.
I think the writer has been smoking something, coming up with all the fancy medical terms and bull dust.
This should be a simple article of truth – we have no drugs and medicine, why – because everything we touch, we manage to screw up because we are clueless of how to even deal with a common cold or cough!
The amount of money used to pay for Mugabe’s trips to Singapore could have developed the Central Hospital into a facility as good as any first world country !
Can anyone help me , I’m trying to get e mail address for harare hospital , there’s a doctor who once treted me for my legs looong tym ago . I want harare hosp to give his contact details if possible , coz d disease he was treating me for has resurfaced and I nid some info from him coz d hospitals here in SA dnt know what it is so I nid him to fill them up so dat they can have an idea of wht treatment I shld get