COULD the death of a woman at the hands of a quack performing an illegal operation be the result of the country’s collapsed health delivery system?
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It definitely makes sad reading that a Lusaka woman has died during an operation to remove fibroids by the fake doctor from his make-shift hospital at his home in Makeni.
It is anybody’s guess how many unsuspecting Zambians have risked their lives by going to the make-shift hospital instead of government or registered medical centres.
There is need to investigate how long the so-called Makeni home hospital has been operating such that people could even risk their lives by agreeing to be operated on.
What has compelled people to seek treatment from quacks instead of government hospitals?
Although a patient has died, the good thing is that the suspected culprit has been arrested.
According to the Health Professions Council of Zambia public relations manager, Mr Terry Musonda, the HPCZ with the help of the police arrested 36-year-old Brian Musonda for providing health services without a licence.
Mr Musonda said the HPCZ received an anonymous tip about the suspect’s illegal conduct where it was alleged that on dates unknown but in the month of July, he caused the death of a 37-year-old woman of George Compound in his attempt to conduct an operation to remove fibroids.
Mr Musonda said preliminary investigations into the matter reveal that the suspect, who is believed to be of Congolese origin had been masquerading as a health practitioner and operating an illegal health facility from his home in Lusaka’s Makeni East area.
He also said at the time of his arrest, one patient was found admitted at the suspect’s premises and various medical equipment and supplies were recorded.
Thankfully, Mr Musonda said, the patient was transferred to the University Teaching Hospital while the medical equipment and supplies were seized.
He said the suspect has been charged for contravening several provisions of the Health Professions Act No. 24 of 2009 including Section 6 which prohibits any person from practicing without registration and Section 36 which prohibits operating a health facility without being licensed by the HPCZ.
The arrest of the suspect should prompt the Ministry of Health but also the HPCZ to carry out a public sensitisation programme to warn people not to entrust their health with unregistered health practitioners.
But then, the authorities should be alive to the fact that people could have lost confidence in the government hospitals and in desperation are turning to unregistered clinics for treatment.
Afterall, it is in the public domain that government hospitals are facing a critical shortage of medicines and other medical supplies that the only thing a patient is assured of is a prescription to buy the needed medication from private pharmacies.
But how many Zambians can even afford to buy the medication they need? This makes them vulnerable to visit the make-shift hospitals in their communities.
While we join Mr Musonda in urging “health service consumers to desist from seeking healthcare services from undesignated places or persons who are not registered to practice,” what alternative do they have amidst a collapsed health delivery system?
In a nutshell, the death of the fibroids’ patient should jolt the Ministry of Health into overdrive and improve public service delivery in hospitals.
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