I VISITED Masvingo Provincial Hospital just last week hoping to see magnificent infrastructural development in preparation for medical students’ clinical attachments.
I was bemused because there is no notable movement on the issue, three years after President Emmerson Mnangagwa commissioned the Simon Mazorodze School of Medical and Health Sciences.
Questions kept on lingering in my head as to why the project has failed to kick off three years down the line.
I wondered if it was an act of sabotage by some office-bearers, whether it is poor planning, resource shortages or lack of political will.
The upgrade of Masvingo Provincial Hospital involves three critical ministries of Health, Higher Education and Public Works and their collaboration will bring positive results.
It seems there is some bickering in the corridors and the misunderstanding is stalling construction progress at the hospital.
In March 2025, the first group of medical students will be in their third year, drawing closer to clinical attachments which are supposed to be done at the hospital.
Failure to upgrade Masvingo Provincial Hospital to match Gweru Provincial Hospital will be catastrophic as medical students will stand to lose in terms of resources, time, knowledge and skills.
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The training of medical students is a huge milestone for each and every university in the world, hence the need for government support in the process.
It takes close to US$300 000 to train one doctor in the United Kingdom and about US$100 000 in the developing world to do the same.
Medical schools need strong financing if the output is going to be satisfactory.
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.
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, as well as the College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central and Southern Africa and so far, three specialists have already graduated.
This is the same desire that we hold for Masvingo Provincial Hospital if we want to train competent personnel.
Simon Mazorodze School of Medical and Health Sciences is the fourth medical school in the country since 1963 when the first medical school was established as an associate of the University of Birmingham.
The upgrade will be cloying news for Masvingo as various health services will be available in the province through the medical school.
We 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 if the necessary infrastructural development is undertaken.
Masvingo Provincial Hospital, like Gweru Provincial Hospital, is touted as a teaching hospital of 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.
Who is stalling progress at the hospital?
Is it inter-ministerial bickering that is suffocating development of the teaching hospital?
The chancellor of the university, President Mnangagwa, should know that nothing has happened at the hospital since he pronounced in 2022 that Masvingo Hospital was to undergo massive development to suit teaching hospital standards.
Construction work should start now without further delays if medical training is going to remain compacted.
Who does not want more doctors to be trained?
Who is against the development of Masvingo Hospital?
Why is it taking long to start the project?
Who will not benefit from a revamped Masvingo Hospital?
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.
Those who are sabotaging development of the medical school should not be allowed to remain in offices.
The three ministries should work closely to deliver and not to engage in incessant fights!
The medical school surely needs our support!
The lecturers are working flat hard to deliver the best to the prospective doctors.
- Johannes Marisa is a medical practitioner who is the current president of the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe.
