A HEALTH workforce forms the cornerstone of a solid health delivery system of every country.
Zimbabwe has highly-trained medical personnel which continue to be hunted down by many developed countries of the world for its expertise.
The last few years have seen at least 5 000 nurses migrating to greener pastures, with doctors, physiotherapists, pharmacists following suit.
The level of brain drain is catastrophic and something must be done to tame it.
The bottom line is that medical personnel is disgruntled because of uncompetitive remuneration, inadequate intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, lack of job development opportunities and the general toxic economic environment.
The Midlands province has been blessed with the establishment of a state-of-the art Gweru Provincial Hospital under the headship of Dr Fabian Mashingaidze.
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Indeed, Gweru Hospital is now a full-fledged teaching hospital for medical students and it has also been accredited by regional training bodies like College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central and Southern Africa (CANESCA) and so far three specialists have already graduated.
Masvingo Provincial Hospital needs to be elevated to the level of Gweru Provincial Hospital if medical students are to benefit in a significant manner.
Great Zimbabwe University is leaving no stone unturned in its quest for medical training, with Mashava Hospital being upgraded to match international medical training standards.
Professor Jacob Mufunda is an astute dean who has contributed significantly to the growth of medicine in Zimbabwe.
He was my lecturer and dean at the University of Zimbabwe years back before he moved to the Midlands State University School of Medicine in Gweru.
The country needs to honour such high calibre cadres who have dedicated most of their time to national development.
Simon Mazorodze School of Medical and Health Sciences was officially opened by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in October 2022 and had its first intake of students in March 2023.
It becomes the fourth medical school in the country since 1963 when the first medical school was established as an associate of the University of Birmingham.
This is all cloying news for Masvingo as various health services will be available in the province through the medical school.
We now expect various specialist services from neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, urology, general surgery, radiology to be locally available, a development that is momentous for Vision 2030.
Zimbabwe will never be the same again with the second republic valuing infrastructural development.
Masvingo Provincial Hospital, like Gweru Provincial Hospital, is touted as a teaching hospital for Simon Mazorodze School of Medical and Health Sciences.
What should now be prioritised is the upgrading and revamping of the hospital in a bid to accommodate as many specialists as possible.
The upgrading of Masvingo Hospital is in the hands of three different ministries that should collaborate with speed.
The Health and Child Care ministry has a significant role together with the Higher and Tertiary Education as well as Public Works ministries.
Time is moving and after 2025, the first batch of Simon Mazorodze School of Medical and Health Sciences will require clinical attachments at the hospital.
Construction work should start now without further delay if medical training is going to remain compact.
The upgrading of Masvingo Provincial Hospital will be sweet news not only for medical students, but also for Masvingo province as a whole.
Medical services that used to be sought in major cities will now be decentralised to Masvingo.
That alone is a serious milestone that will save many lives.
Many surgical operations can be done at the general hospital, making it very efficient in terms of service delivery.
Health and development are symbiotic in nature and it is undeniable that development occurs when there is sound health.
The training of more doctors will help in reducing the doctor-patient ratio which stands at more than 1:7 000 in our country.
Let us all unite for the betterment of Masvingo.
The medical school surely needs our support.
The lecturers are working flat out to deliver the best to the prospective doctors.