Muhabi Lungu says the condition of the national health system has become a threat to human life. The Zambia We Want secretary general said that the situation reflects serious problems in the health sector. He said this while expressing concern about conditions at the University Teaching Hospital Adult Hospital department, where male and female patients are sharing wards, and where some admitted patients are being kept on benches or chairs because there are no beds available.
Lungu said that the current situation reflects failure in health governance. He said that his first hand observations show that the health system is not functioning properly. He said that it was unacceptable that admitted patients had to wait for seats to become available before being placed on beds. He said that health facilities are expected to provide proper medical accommodation, and that the present conditions do not meet that standard.
Lungu said that the United Party for National Development administration should address the matter urgently. He said that the shortage of bed space at the highest referral hospital is evidence that the health system has collapsed. He said that the government should prioritise solutions that safeguard life. He said that poor hospital infrastructure denies citizens proper treatment. He said that a referral centre should not be in a position where admitted patients cannot receive beds.
Lungu said government spending had been directed to other areas at the expense of critical hospital needs. He said that funds being channelled to the constitutional technical committee should be directed instead to improving the health sector. He said that investment in health should be prioritised because saving lives is essential.
He said the situation at the University Teaching Hospital Adult Hospital department shows that the system is not handling the needs of the population. He said that patients admitted as early as Tuesday had still not been allocated bed spaces by Wednesday. He said that this pattern reflects a deeper structural challenge in health service provision.
Lungu urged government to provide long term solutions. He said that the health system requires immediate and corrective measures. He said that health institutions need to be strengthened. He said that a functioning health sector is essential for national wellbeing.
He said the government should not neglect matters that are central to saving lives. He said health service administration must not be compromised. He said that people should not lose access to services because of bad prioritisation.
UTH public relations officer Mwiza Mwiya said that the hospital had been forced to temporarily accommodate both male and female patients in the same ward because all male wards were full. Mwiya said that some patients were being placed temporarily in female areas until bed space became available. Mwiya said this was not the normal practice but was being used to preserve life because there was no alternative at that time.
Mwiya said that the increase in male surgical admissions contributed to the shortage of bed space. Mwiya said that once beds were freed, patients would be moved to the appropriate wards.
