Friday, March 29, 2024

Majority of deliveries at UTH are done on the floor-Survey

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University Teaching Hospital (UTH)
A new survey released by the Zambia Medical Association has revealed that majority of all deliveries at UTH are conducted on the floor.

The survey on the State of Maternal and New Born Health Care Services in Lusaka Province has revealed that UTH on average records 60 deliveries per day while the labour ward only has capacity for 17 deliveries.

The survey also shows that UTH labour ward with its 17 bed delivery space has remained the same since inception in 1969.

According to the survey, UTH maternity and theatre space which was designed for a small population has been remarkably reduced by 25 percent.

“The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has expanded in recent years and has been relocated from ward C22 to ward D11. There has been a reduction in the maternity space since ward C11, C13 and B 21 has been taken away from Obstetrics and Gynecology. Ward B21 is now used as a cancer ward, C11 is female highly cost ward and ward C 13 is now female surgical; high cost ward,” the survey says.

It said there has been a reduction in the operating theatre space since phase III theatre 7 which used to be elective gynecology space was taken away and given to surgery C block theatre, consisting of three operating rooms, was originally designed for Obstetrics and Gynecology emergencies.

It says currently with the repossession of theatre 7 in phase III, all emergency and elective Obstetrics and Gynecology cases are being conducted in C block theatre of note, only one operating theatre is allocated for emergencies and only two theatres are being used for elective gynecology cases.

On human resource, the survey shows that there is a glaring shortage of midwives on the labour ward with a midwife patient ratio translating to 1.6.

It also shows that there is a shortage of nurses with an average of three nurses per shift, making it impossible to fully optimize the Obstetrics and Gynecology theatre at any given time.

The survey also revealed that there is a critical shortage of nurses in the Neo Intensive Care Unit with an average of only three nurses against 60 patients per day giving a nurse patient ratio of 1:20.

It also revealed that currently, UTH has no nurses that are specifically trained in neonatal care.

The trained neo natal care nurse to patient ratio is supposed to be at 1:1 in the Neo Intensive Care Unit setting.

11 COMMENTS

    • There’s absolutely nothing wrong with delivering a baby from the floor as long as there is a qualified midwife on hand!

    • You should know Nubian Princess seeing as you were also born on the floor, and bumped your head. Which is why you are such a moron!!!

  1. We stated PF Sata incompetence right when he won elections and some Zambian were saying he is a man of action – REALLY, building a mini hospital at state house for himself and leaving 000s of mothers delivering on the floor at UTH is being a man of action. Shame of PF. Sata is gullible, selfish and tribalist. His own son in accident evacuated to South Africa, leaving others who were in the same accident to find treatment for themselves because they are Lambas or not close to Satas. How much tribal can this be?. Let God be judge for the defenseless and be honored in His sovereignty.

  2. LT you are defending and shielding the indefensible by declining and selectively publishing opinion in favor of PF Sata. Truth will catch up with you. I am one of the many that is lodging this complaints with your media. ZWD beats you on being fair in reportage and investigative finding of truth,

  3. i work at UTH in the same dept and 20 floor deliveries is an understatement.
    what is worse which was not reported is that when a patient delivers on the floor and when waters break u find other patients swimming in the same water and so cross infections are high. No wonder i agreed with nawakwi when she said UTH a death trap.

  4. PF priorities. Fire all nurses, spend K500 000 on Chitimukulu one sided fight, spend colossal sums on president’s “holiday”, give Kabimba money to aimlessly galavant in south Africa. This government has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that they are more concerned with childishly trying to prove that they are always right and always misunderstood. All this at the expense of our mother Zambia and their dwindling political fortunes. Ten years in opposition fighting to prove how selfish, disorganized and child minded you are is the most senseless thing I have ever witnessed. #smh

    • @Hoodwinked
      IT IS VITAL TO THINK OVER WHAT YOU ARE SAYING. HOW OLD IS PF COMPARED WITH THE AGE OF UTH? HOW LONG DID UNIP RULE ZAMBIA? HOW LONG DID MMD RULE ZAMBIA? HOW LONG HAS PF RULED ZAMBIA? HOW MUCH DAMAGE DID MMD DO TO UTH? SO DONT JUST KEEP RANTING “KWATI NI CHIMBWA WAKULE MPILIPILI MU CIFUPA”

  5. Am on LT again.
    My opinion @ 4.0 was earlier on omitted and published my complaint @ 5.0. Your publication of my views @ 4 about UTH is not about your free and fair coverage but in reaction to my pointing out that ZWD is a better media out let than LT.
    As long as you remain in partisanship with those in power doing wrong things to citizens the public will express low opinion about your media just like it is with the pathetic Post news media peddling lies on behalf of a uncaring PF government.

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