Sinokubonga Nkala
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, smoyo@chronicle.co.zw
HEALTH and Child Care Minister, Dr Douglas Mombeshora, has expressed concern over the appalling state of infrastructure at Ingutsheni Central Hospital in Bulawayo, including the nurse-patient ratio, and called for urgent remedial action to address the problem.
The minister, who was on a familiarisation tour of the institution, was told by the chief medical officer, Dr Nemache Mawere, that there are 578 patients at Ingutsheni Central Hospital whose carrying capacity is 708. The hospital, which sits on a 130-hectare land, has 14 wards.
Dr Mombeshora visited one of the wards, Khumalo, where he was told that there are 139 patients and 98 beds. After the ward tour, he visited the institution’s thriving horticulture and poultry projects.
Speaking to the media after the tour, Dr Mombeshora said there is a serious challenge with the infrastructure at the institution which is failing to accommodate patients with acute psychosis.
“There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the wards because patients who are here are not the same as those you find in other central hospitals because they need special care. We need adequate and trained staff to be here,” he said.
“I know that the hospital is at a nine percent vacancy rate which is better than in the ministry, but obviously, we have to prioritise this hospital because of the kind of patients they attend to.”
Dr Mombeshora further noted that the ablution facilities are in a deplorable state while water supplies are critical.
He said there is a need to strengthen security in the wards. Some of the window panes are broken while doors have been vandalised.
“We understand that most of the infrastructure was vandalised by patients who would have become acute psychotic yet we don’t have anti-psychotics to calm them down. As a ministry, we have promised to put more effort into acquiring the drugs and we must ensure that by the end of January, some of these drugs will have been procured to improve the stocks,” said Dr Mombeshora.
“However, it is pleasing that the hospital now has doctors who are doing psychiatric training. We hope that these doctors will come back after training and help in improving service delivery in the institution.”
On the nursing side, Dr Mombeshora said the ministry has now planned to double the intake of nurses.
“In some of the wards you need a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:1 yet it’s actually 1: 20 which is not an ideal situation. So, we hope with time that will be covered through training,” he said.
Dr Mombeshora, who arrived at the Khumalo ward during lunchtime for the patients, said he was not happy with the diet the institution was giving to patients.
“I was not happy with the type of food being eaten by our patients, it must be improved. We cannot have our patients having the same diet of isitshwala, cabbage and beans every day,” he said.
The minister lauded the institution for thinking outside the box by coming up with income-generating projects.
The hospital was established in 1908 as an asylum centre where prison guards were the original carers.
In the 1940s, psychiatry services were established but the services were racially biased until the country attained independence in 1980.
St Mary’s 1, a female ward, carries a significant number of substance-use patients, including survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault.
The major substances used include alcohol, cannabis, crystal meth, and cough mixtures.
The other wards are also occupied by patients who developed chronic illnesses that were complicated by substance use and these are Mzilikazi 2 (46 patients/40 beds) and Dawson Ward (40/75). The Mambo ward (56/49) is occupied by patients who committed serious crimes like murder and rape.
“They are a danger to society and their families are not keen to welcome them back. We thus keep them for life. When patients become old and mostly suffer from substance use complications and other dementias, the patients are put in Nandi and St Luke’s geriatric wards,” said Dr Mawere.
“The rest of the hospital comprises patients who have severe to profound intellectual disability and accompanying physical disabilities. These live at Ingutsheni all their lives.”
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