Sun, 04 Feb 2018 10:38:39 +0000
By CHIKUMBI KATEBE
THE successful operation separating conjoined twins at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) is an indication that government’s investment in human resource and infrastructure development is paying dividends, Vice President, Inonge Wina said in Lusaka yesterday.
The vice president said the development was a sign that the investment in human resource development of medical doctors, nurses and support teams coupled with the countrywide construction of healthcare delivery infrastructure such as hospitals and clinics is now paying dividends to the nation.
Mrs Wina told the Daily Nation in a statement that this is so because the capacity to successfully undertake such operations is saving the country millions of kwacha compared to performing the same exercise abroad.
She also said that the restructuring of the University Teaching Hospital last year into specialized units such as the one for new born babies and women, had shown that the process was right as it was saving lives.
She praised the Ministry of Health and UTH management staff for their effort and wonderful work being undertaken even under challenging conditions given the limited resources available.
She urged members of the public to have faith in the Zambian medical team and emphasized that the medical team could easily be the best in the world.
She further said that she is proud that complicated surgical operations such as the separation of siamese twins gives more confidence to the public, “that our hospitals countrywide are the first point of call for all citizens because the country has what it takes to become a centre of excellence for quality and cost-effective healthcare delivery in the region.”
And National Restoration Party information and publicity secretary for Central Province, Frank Sichone says the successful separation of the conjoined twins by local doctors at the University Teaching Hospital is a true reflection of Zambia’s abilities in making progressive attainments in the medical field.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Health permanent secretary Kennedy Malama says the medical staff in charge of the twins at UTH has asked for more time to observe the children before giving an update on their condition.
Dr Malama said the children have not yet made 24 hours outside the theatre and their conjoined condition, and so required much more time to rest and be closely observed in order to give a proper assessment of their condition.
“Let us allow them time to sleep. Let them have enough time to rest after that operation before we can give an update on their condition, they have not been out of theatre more than 24 hours yet, so we need more time for observation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Sichone said it was commendable that local doctors could take up such a complicated assignment and deliver successful results without transferring the patients to a hospital abroad.
