The Passenger Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) have registered concern to the effect that victims of road traffic accidents are taking long without undergoing orthopaedic surgery at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare.
“It has come to our attention that a number of victims of road traffic accidents who required urgent orthopaedic surgery at Parirenyatwa Hospital have not been attended to for two to three months after injury due to a shortage of orthopaedic surgeons at the institution. We are concerned that these victims of road accidents, who include our members, face the possibility of permanent disability.
“We appeal to the Ministry of Health and Child Care and Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals to come up with an urgent solution that will ensure that those in need of orthopaedic surgery are attended to as soon as possible. We are also concerned with the shortage of bandages, injections and essential drugs at government hospitals, including painkillers, such that patients are made to buy these,” PAZ said in a statement.
Barnabas Thondhlana, a Board Member of the Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum (ZINEF) described the situation as a national disaster that required urgent attention.
“Imagine someone spending three months in hospital incurring a huge bill but receiving no attention! The situation is compounded further by the shortage of painkillers and other medical necessities. It is clear that our government does not value human life when it fails to address the deteriorating health situation in the country. The money allocated to the ministry of health in the 2018 budget is paltry compared to the threshold of the Abuja Declaration of 15 percent,” Thondhlana said.