COPPERBELT Minister John Kufuna has said there is need to expand the capacity of the Ndola Central hospital (NCH) Mortuary to end instances of some bodies not being refrigerated.
And the minister has directed government health institutions to stop charging user fees to the public as per government directive.
Mr Kufuna said in Ndola when he made a surprise inspection of the institution yesterday that it was surprising that such a big referral hospital only had a mortuary with a capacity of 35 bodies.
During his inspection in the morning, the minister found about six bodies that had been brought in, lying on the floor and on some trolleys outside the refrigerators.
He said the situation was not good because the dead needed to be kept in better conditions.
“This is obviously what contributes to the bad smell in the mortuary and the Hospital in general,” he said.
Mr Kufuna, however, said that news of more mortuary units arriving at the hospital had given some assurance that the situation would soon improve.
He said the situation in the laundry room was also not pleasant and that the institution urgently needed laundry machines installed to improve its operations.
Mr Kufuna urged management at the hospital to continue improving sanitation and cleanliness so that patients and their minders can have little to complain about.
The minister also expressed displeasure that NCH had continued to charge user fees on the public and told them to immediately stop.
He said user fees were abolished the moment that President Michael Sata declared it and that it was wrong for the hospital to disregard the instruction.
But hospital superintendent Dande Malawo said management was awaiting written instructions concerning the user fees.
Dr Malawo also appealed to the minister to assist the institution with accessing the money to be used in its rehabilitation programe.
He said the hospital had only received about K900 million so far out of the K2.1 billion bill of quantities that had been presented.
The minister said he would present the hospital’s case and ensure that the remaining money was made available for completion of the works.
Mr Kufuna said the public should also refrain from vandalising installations especially in ablution blocks in wards, where he found various fittings missing.
[Times of Zambia]
Article extracted from Lusaka Times website http://www.lusakatimes.com/2011/12/13/copperbelt-minister-shocked-state-ndola-central-hospital/
PUBLISHED – Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 9:16 am