BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – The Ministry of Health is hard at work, trying to re-instate services that had been suspended at Mbabane Government Hospital.
This follows disturbing news Emaswati were waken up to today, which was to the effect that services such as dialysis and other surgeries were suspended. Minister of Health Mduduzi Mtasebula has issued a statement today (Wednesday, October 9, 2024) to inform the nation on what his ministry is doing to address the situation.
Matsebula said his ministry acknowledged the challenges that led to the suspension of some services at the hospital. These include issues that have affected services at Theatre, Renal Dialysis and CT Scan units, according to the minister.
“The Ministry of Health has this morning attended to the matters with the urgency they warrant. Interventions have been put in place, some short-term and others long-term,” Matsebula said. These interventions will ensure that the affected services are reinstated, with one service to be outsourced following an agreement with a private sector organisation, according to Matsebula. These interventions include:
Renal Dialysis: According to the minister, the services were interrupted early this morning, with the last session ending at 1am, due to a shortage of Smart Bags, commonly known at Acid. He said a follow-up was made with the supplier of pharmaceutical products for renal dialysis on orders that had been placed.
“The supplier has already dispatched a truck to deliver the Acid and other products and delivery is expected to be made this afternoon. In the meantime, the services have resumed after a stock of Smart Bags were sourced from Hlathikhulu Government Hospital to ensure that sessions continue while we wait for the supplier to deliver,” he said.
Additionally, Matsebula said five renal dialysis machines were reported to be malfunctioning at Hlathikhulu Government Hospital. A vendor has been engaged and is already on ground to fix the dialysis machines and we expect that full-scale services will be up and running by in a few days, according to the minister.
CT Scan: Matsebula said the country had one CT Scan machine in the public health sector, and this machine, which was sourced in 2010, had since developed faults due to being overburdened. A vendor, according to the minister, has been dispatched to assist and the needed parts have been ordered from Germany.
While the nation waits for the parts to be delivered so that the machine will be fixed, a short-term alternative has been made to ensure that Emaswati continue to get the much-needed service. “A private sector organisation has already been engaged and agreed to assist patients. The patients will be referred to the private facility through the Phalala Fund, and this agreement will be in place until the CT Scan is fixed. As we approach a new budget cycle, plans are to decentralise these services to regional hospitals, funds permitting, as a long-term solution,” Matsebula said.
Theatre: On this issue, the minister said MGH theatre services had been downscaled, with priority being given to clients needing emergency surgeries, while elective surgeries had been suspended. This is due to limited stock of medical drugs, especially those used for pain management, according to the minister. “The situation will normalise soon as some of the medical drugs are available on stock at CMS and will be delivered today, while others have been ordered with local suppliers and the process will be expedited to ensure that deliveries are done soonest,” he said.
Matsebula said his Ministry regretted the inconveniences caused to its clients by the untimely temporary suspension of the concerned services. “We are working to put in place and implement strategies that will lead to a better healthcare service delivery, with minimum to no such instances happening in the future,” Matsebula concluded.
