RESIDENTS of Masvingo have welcomed a privately-owned emergency service provider with the hope of getting better services.
Discovery Ambulance Services started operating in the province on Friday.
Previously, the province was being serviced by one privately-owned ambulance, exposing residents to exorbitant charges.
Speaking to NewsDay at the weekend, Trust Muzozviona of Hillside in Masvingo said: “We are grateful for this gesture because while it is business, it still gives us as consumers a bargaining power since there is going to be competition, at the same time creating employment for our youths.”
He added that Masvingo was a critical hub in Zimbabwe because of its location on the country’s busiest highway, serving as a vital gateway to Zimbabwe’s largest trading partner, South Africa.
Muzozviona said as a result the city was bound to handle many victims of road traffic accidents.
Said Discovery Ambulance Services founder and chief executive officer David Munowenyu: “We are excited about setting a base in Masvingo at Dr Makurira’s surgery as part of our medical outreach programme.
“The province is very wide, stretching from Nyika to Chivi, as well as Mashava to Chiredzi and we have made a promise to offer emergency medical services to our best abilities.”
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Munowenyu said they appreciated the fact that Masvingo referred many patients to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare and Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo, “which is why we have put in place highly experienced staff, as well as well-maintained vehicles fitted with technologically advanced machinery”.
The ambulance services team started off its medical outreach programme at Zion Christian Church’s Mbungo Estates, where general practitioner Tapfuma Parirenyatwa offered free medical consultations.
They also offer free blood pressure and diabetes tests, treatment and public health education.
“We also have packages that include the US$1 per person per month subscription that gives you ambulance cover, free BP and diabetes tests,” Munowenyu said.
“You also get inter-hospital transfers within a 40km radius. We are also going to have a national day for free first aid training in Harare at the Hippodrome in Braeside, where we are inviting everyone to come and get first aid training on July 27.
“We just want to equip many people with basic first aid training. You never know it could save a life, or better yet, ignite someone’s career in medical emergency services.”
