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| National |
| Ndirande clinic overcrowded |
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by
Jack McBrams, 03 April 2003
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Ndirande Health Centre, which caters for a population of over 170,000 people from the township and surrounding Mbayani, Chirimba and Chemusa townships, is so overcrowded and understaffed that it forces the sole clinician and nurses to work longer hours everyday.
Briefing former Poverty Alleviation Minister Lee Mlanga when he toured the clinic Wednesday morning before President Bakili Muluzi dissolved the cabinet, the health centre’s officer-in-charge and the centre’s sole clinician Henry Chamba explained that the clinic often faces an acute problem of shortage of drugs, overcrowding and staff.
“We treat and average 500 patients a day, which makes the clinic overcrowded. I am the only clinician and we have 18 nurses, but we cannot meet the demand when you consider that we cater for a catchment area whose population is more than 176,105 people,” he said.
Chamba explained that the workload at the clinic often forces the staff “to work over lunch and late at night so that patients should not go back home untreated”.
Mlanga, confirming that the clinic was indeed congested by what he saw on his tour around, pledged to assist where he possibly could.
“We have come here [from] the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation to see to it that the clinic receives enough assistance and we have seen that there is need for government to assist on a number of issues, including that of medical assistants and drugs.
“But what we could possibly do as a ministry is perhaps help with things like blankets, cups and the like. We can only assist with what we can get,” he said.
Mlanga said since the population in Ndirande is so high there is need to ask government to provide another health centre within the township.
“This centre is obviously too small and when we write our report on this tour, we will ask government to provide another health centre for Ndirande,” he said. |
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