SURPRISE VISIT: Mnangagwa ‘shock’ over dire state of hospitals – ‘everything that could break is broken’

By Health Correspondent

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa made “unannounced” visits to two of the country’s biggest referral hospitals in Harare Monday and was shocked by the ‘dire’ state of affairs – facilities broken, medicines unavailable and staff at the ends of their tethers.

According to his officer, Mnangagwa ditched his usual long and loud motorcade and dozens of aides or a scaled down ride with no “sirens or outriders”.

“… the President used a private motorcade. No sirens, no outriders,” said presidential spokesman George Charamba.

“It was just a small cade and we all fitted in. For the first time and I have been in Government since 1986, I saw the motorcade of the President obeying traffic rules.”

Mnangagwa’s visit followed a surprise public appeal on social media last month by youth minister Tinomuda Machakaire urging the Zanu PF leader to visit hospitals and witness for himself the sorry state of affairs.

Responding to Machakaire’s comments, Deputy Health Minister Sleiman Kwidini told parliament that the health system is “doing well” and accused social media users of fuelling false narratives.

Again and without directly referencing Machakaire’s appeal, the health ministry issued a statement dismissing the as misleading “social media” claims about the state of the country’s healthcare sector.

“These comments seem to reflect a well co-ordinated effort to selectively highlight challenges within the public healthcare system, while deliberately ignoring the essential services still being delivered, often under difficult, resource-constrained conditions and the significant progress made in recent years.”

But Mnangagwa appeared to have ignored the assurances of the health ministry Monday and visited the Parirenyatwa and Sally Mugabe referral hospitals.

According to Charamba, “When the President got there, he was quite shocked with the state of affairs in the health sector. Everything that can go bad did go bad. Everything that could break is broken.”

Charamba continued, “It’s suggesting a state of general neglect, which has been getting the facilities to deteriorate over a long period without anyone taking concern or care.

“You go to the state of equipment, you have equipment that has long been broken, equipment that is so critical but is unavailable because it’s broken or the numbers are just too small for the numbers that need the services of that equipment.

“You go to the supply of drugs … In the wards, in hospitals, where drugs are needed and used on patients, the supplies were threadbare. But beyond that, there were certain item lines which were just not available, including basic things like paracetamols.”

Activists and healthcare staff have long expressed concern over the deterioration of Zimbabwe’s healthcare delivery system due to chronic underfunding by the government and the flight of doctors and nurses abroad for better remuneration.

Mnangagwa came face to face with this reality during his visit.

Charamba explained; “The basic things like screening curtains, in the case here, there was nil, nil, nothing.

“You only saw rails that suggested that once upon a time we used to have screening curtains to enhance the privacy of a patient when they are being attended to.

“Those rails show that they were last used maybe some years back, indicating that this is really a problem that has been building over the years without anyone ever worrying.”

Medical staff have been left weary and depressed by the conditions under which they are forced to work.

“Not just depressed because of the conditions of service, but also depressed because they just don’t have sufficient tools of the trade,” explained Charamba.

“Some of them actually spoke about how their own consciences were weighed down by the fact that patients they could have saved were lost simply because certain basic and simple tools of their trade were unavailable.

“Yes, it was a very sad state of affairs and the President couldn’t just believe what he was watching, but he was able to get an appreciation. He was also able to get to know weak points in the overall health matrix and the health delivery system.”