‘Dirty’ Nyanje hospital worries local chief

Mon, 05 Dec 2016 09:14:52 +0000

By Richard Luo in Sinda

A TRADITIONAL leader in Sinda district has called on management at Nyanje Mission Hospital to ensure the institution is kept clean and according to health regulations. Speaking in interview at her palace on Friday, Chieftainess Nyanje observed that the hospital, a referral centre, had lately not been observing hygiene. She said the aim of Government was to pay workers to ensure they performed their tasks to the best of their abilities. “My other complaint is the environment at Nyanje Hospital which is not good; there is dirt everywhere, yet it is an area which should be in the forefront in promoting good hygiene. “And if truly, as a health institution, it doesn’t lead by example in good hygiene, then how is the community going to respond? At the moment it is regarded as a district hospital, yet it is so dirty. What message are they sending to the community? ‘‘I wish the management can wake up and act as expected,” she said. She recalled that in the past hospital was the cleanest and hygienic hospital in Zambia unlike the way it was now. She called on the hospital management to see to it that the institution carried a good message to the community, adding that at the moment many people were complaining over the state of the institution. Chieftainess Nyanje called on the district health office to ensure all health centres were visited to make sure they responded positively to the demands of the communities they served. Chieftainess Nyanje appealed to Government to send more doctors to the institution because currently the staff was overwhelmed with work. She said the situation had led to a lot of cases being referred to the nearby St Francis Hospital in Katete and at times lives were lost due to inadequate manpower at Nyanje Hospital. “The other problem relates to the community complaining about the shortage of medical doctors at our hospital because the one who is there cannot cope with the demand of work. “Government should consider sending us two more doctors to help with the prevailing situation and even prevent unwanted deaths,” said the chief. Hospital administrator Jordan Tembo admitted the problem of the shortage of medical doctors which had already been reported to the provincial office and had promised to do something about it. When asked about the poor hygienic standards at the hospital, Mr Tembo said that at times it was due to shortage of manpower. “The concern of our chief is true and genuine but I wish to state that the challenge of medical officers was reported to the provincial office and we have been told that soon or later we shall receive more medical officers; so I guess the problem will soon be dealt with,” said Mr Tembo.