Livingstone General Hospital will acquire a Computerised Tomography (CT) scanner and an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to prepare the institution for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) general assembly, Health Permanent Secretary Peter Mwaba has said.
A CT scan, which is mostly used in advanced medical institutions around the globe, uses X-rays to make detailed pictures of structures inside of the body.
Dr Mwaba said the popularised CT scanner and ICU would be procured from the K204 billion that had been allocated to Livingstone, Ndola, Kitwe and University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in next year’s national budget.
He said designs had already been done for a specific new wing of Livingstone General Hospital which would carter for the UNWTO general assembly.
Dr Mwaba was speaking in Livingstone at the weekend during a meeting between the National Steering Committee and the local organising committee.
“From the health point of view, Livingstone will never be the same again and you need to sing this song as local organising committee.
We need to market these preparations very well so that people who will come during the UNWTO general assembly will know what is available in Livingstone,” Dr Mwaba said.
And Information and Broadcasting Permanent Secretary Amos Malupenga has urged the media in Zambia to be objective and patriotic in their reporting of UNWTO general assembly.
Mr Malupenga, who is Information, communication and publicity sub-committee chairperson, said there was need for the media to paint a picture that gives inspiration ahead of the conference.
He noted that Zambia recently hosted Zone six games in Lusaka successfully yet some media houses played a prophet of doom role prior to the event saying such negative publicity should not recur in UNWTO general assembly preparations.
“People form opinions on what they here in the media. We are very critical as the media in shaping the destination of the country,” Mr Malupenga said.
The delegation of the Permanent Secretaries led by National Steering Committee chairperson Peter Kasanda was in Livingstone and other surrounding areas to underscore Government determination to the successful hosting of UNWTO general assembly.
Others in the delegation are Local Government and Housing Permanent Secretary Benald Namachila, Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary Stephen Mwansa, Home Affairs Deputy Permanent Secretary Kaizer Zulu and Tourism and Arts acting Permanent Secretary Monde Gwaba.
Iyo twalishalila pa Zed. That’s when we are planning to acquire CT scan and ICU since independence. Well better late than never kwena
Because of UNWTO that is when you think the CT Scan is necessary. Zambia, Zambia oh my God!
Who cares?All politicians and their families get medical attention from SAfrica not Zambia so why would they invest in Zambian hospitals?Next time you vote think twice on who cares about you!!!!!!!!!!!!
CT scanner! Hey! Do you have Ultrasonography? That is good news!
Now tell us where the persons who will operate this equipment will come from. Are there Radiographers and Radiologists available on the ground to run the equipment and read the exminations? Do we have electric power 24/7 with no fluctuations?Do we have clinical staff to manage patients when the CT scanner offers a diagnosis? Can MPs ask the question in Parliament, ‘How many Radiolgraphers and Radiologists does Zambia have and how many are in training and how many are needed?’
@Nachibwala & Brian, in defense of the govt, CT scanners are highly specialized medical equipment which is expensive to acquire and run. It is not just a matter of purchasing one of these machines and think that you are now advanced!
You need highly trained doctors/specialists to interpret what the machine spits out. On top of that, you need trained operators to run these machines, and technicians to repair them if need be. Otherwise they will just be gathering dust in some back-room at the hospital. Sure, you can engage the manufacturer to always come and do some repairs every time they breakdown, but that is very expensive.
Even in rich countries, not every hospital can afford a CT scanner. Usually they send patients to specialized medical centers for this kind of diagnosis.
CT scanners are common things in developed countries now. Even for dogs (animals) I watched one being used by a Vet on a dog on the Dstv Animal Planet channel. Just shows how poor we are for this to be big news!!!
what about PEP and MRI scans;whan are we likely to have them?
You mean there has never been Intensuve Care facilities in Livingstone and it had to take the UNWTO conference for these pfools to react?
What a country – everything is knee-jerk and based on showing foreigners what we actually are not! We still haven’t moved away from UNIP practices of doing things only to please outsiders be it from out of town or out of country – AND it has to be window-dressing all the time. I wonder what will happen once that UNWTO ends…
What is an Intensive Care Unit?
It is a hospital ward where a patient can have 24/7 respiratory and cardiac support. Full stop.
So you need 1. A ventilator 2. Cardiac monitors with 3. Means of drug and nutrient administration.
Now that is easy, every ZCCM town had one, but for GRZ, it had to take an international conference to put one in kwa Livingi.
It is like Conference centre and International airport. We only built these for the Non-Aligned conference in 1969, although they were planned by the Colonial govt in 1962.
PLEASE READ THIS OR CAN SOMEONE FORWARD IT TO DR MWABA! PREPARING FOR A MEETING OF THAT MAGNITUDE DOES NOT REQUIRE A CT SCAN FIRST AND FOREMOST.THE HOSPITAL NEEDS A DISASTER PTREPAREDNESS PLAN,TRAINING OF ALL MEDICAL STAFF IN BASIC LIFE SUPPORT AND ADVANCED TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT FOR DOCTORS.IF A PLANE CARRYING 100 PASSENGERS WAS TO CRSAH LAND (God forbid) AND OVER 70 PASSENGERS SUSTAIN MULTIPLE INJURIES,CAN LIVINGSTONE GENRAL HOSPITAL COPE?DOC FIRST THINGS FIRST.
Embarrassing reading. The reasons for procuring this vital equipment is because on un meetings zambian life is not worth the equipment.
Hahahah…. Zambia too much CNP
And Dr Mwaba is said to be clever by Zambian medical standards. lol
By the time you need a CT scan bwana, the patient will have flown to their country for better services.
Has he ever heard of the ABCs? Airway, Breathing and Circulation?
#4 & #5, job well done to inform us of the facts. On the positive side, it is good that as a result of an important conference, we shall improve upon medical facilities in the country. I think going forward we should have more important conferences staged in different parts of Zambia so that there’s development of one form or the other. If the idea works, capitalize on it.
Ati ba Dr Mwaba is clever by Zambian standards hahaha. Probably not. If he was he should at UT H attending to patients and providing clinical advice to junior doctors than foraging for change from Chilufya sata and company. Pen pushing does not reflect intelligence. You need First Aiders instead of talking big about CT scans. Poor roads with massive potholes, no emergency vehicles, by the time you reach the hospital fully equipped with CT scan , the would be dead from thr rough ride on
Ba dr Mwaba be serious in the way you mange Health services you have missed a critical point diagnosing a condition makes no sense without Drugs -Pharmaceutical care is vital make a deliberate budget to procure essential drugs not less than 500million kwacha, inclued cheap european generics not these stupidd indian cadila drugs with questioneable potency
An ICU cannot be acquired…. I am saddened to know that the hosputal does bot have a CT scanner which is a very vital equipment of healthcare. I knew we were behind but did not think we this behind. No wonder we send patients with a headache to South Africa. I work in the medical field and really wonder how I would do that in Zambia.
You are surprised that Livingstone has not ITU? Not sure about now but Kitwe Central did not have one even in the 90s. By the way Livingstone has A&E as well.
Sorry meant to say has no A&E