Govt clinics in crisis

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:37:53 +0000

 

Lusaka Government clinics are in the throes of a serious staff and equipment crisis, to the extent that patients are claiming that people are dying un-attended to because there are very few medical officers for the number   patients that throng the clinicsLusaka.

The Lusaka District Commissioner Mr. Ashwell Kampengele and District Medical Officer Masumba Masaninga who have toured the clinics have been told of the serious staff and equipment crisis facing clinics inLusaka.

At the Chipata clinic patients start queuing for treatment as early as 05.hrs, but are rarely attended to by qualified doctors who are apparently rotated.

Other clinics have been forced to scale down dental and specialist services because they do not have sufficient equipment to sterilize the equipment, “Therefore we can only take a few patients at a time”

The pharmacies are in an equally poor state as they rarely stock essential drugs. Patients are given prescriptions to purchase the medicines from private pharmacies.

A doctor at Chilenje clinic has appealed to the government to think seriously about the staffing and equipment levels for first line medical institutions which have to deal with primary screening, “they should be provided with all the necessary equipment.

 

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