Referral system costs Zim US$400m annually

ZIMBABWE has been losing US$400 million annually through the referral system, at a time the nation was in dire need of the foreign currency, Finance and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube has said.

Referral, according to World Health Organisation, can be defined as a process whereby a health worker at one level of the health system experiencing insufficient resources (drugs, equipment, skills) to manage a clinical condition, seeks the assistance of a better or differently resourced facility at the same or higher level or take over the management of the client’s case.

Responding to questions from captains of industry who attended the post-mid-term budget review hosted by Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Economics Society in Bulawayo on Friday, Ncube said the referral system has been bleeding the country.

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