Management at Solwezi General Hospital has expressed happiness over the ongoing rehabilitation works to improve the quality of infrastructure at the health facility.
Solwezi General Hospital Senior Medical Superintendent, Kitanda Sondashi said management has been engaging with the Ministry of Health over the challenges the hospital is facing and there is a positive response.
Dr Sondashi said the current rehabilitation works have been funded by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development under the preventive maintenance unit.
“Rehabilitation works are expected to be complete in one year and the cost of the project is yet to be properly determined due to dynamic work environment and variations of works,” he said.
Dr Sondashi said the scope of work includes all the wards, operating theater, Radiology, Intensive Care Unit, Emergency room and renal department.
“ I am glad that especially in terms of Radiology services, we have been engaging the Ministry time and again and the Ministry has now responded positively that they have actually supplied us with the latest digital portable X-ray machine which we have been crying for a long time. The Ministry is also in the process of acquiring a bigger stationary digital X-Ray machine because we are using the old version analogue machine which has been giving us problems of breaking down,” he said.
He said management at the health facility is also happy that the Ministry of Health is also in the process of providing them with a CT scan.
“We are one of the few hospitals that have been earmarked to receive a CT Scan and we are ready for that, the works are nearly finished for the CT Scan room,” said.
Dr Sondashi however, said the laundry and the Kitchen departments have continued to face challenges and are affecting service delivery at the hospital.
He said from the kitchen department, only two pots are working while the four others have broken down, making it difficult for the hospital to prepare meals for patients.
Dr Sondashi has also appealed to the government to consider buying more laundry equipment as the hospital currently has one industrial washing machine used for cleaning hospital linen.
I think Solwezi deserves a bigger and new structure for a General Hospital so that the current serves as a District Hospital. Dr Sondashi is a gentleman and has excelled in many spheres since he took charge of that institution. He deserves to be in charge of the province and I don’t think anyone would disagree with me. The man is passionate about what he does