Chief Nyamphande, His Subjects Await Mobile Hospitals Launch

6 June 2011

CHIEF Nyamphande of the Nsenga people in Petauke District has said he and his subjects are looking forward to the launch of the mobile hospitals by President Rupiah Banda to enjoy the quality health services from the facilities like other beneficiaries in Zambia.

The chief has since appealed to President Banda to accelerate the distribution of the mobile hospitals in Eastern Province to help reach rural areas for the delivery of the needed health services.

In an interview yesterday, Chief Nyamphande said the idea of Government distributing mobile hospitals to remote areas was a welcome move because they were significant in delivering health services closer to people.

The traditional leader said the mobile hospitals were essential ingredients that would effectively supplement the on-going construction of various hospitals and clinics in areas like his chiefdom.

“We have heard how these mobile hospitals have helped our colleagues in many parts of the country where they have been distributed. Our appeal here is for our president to speed up the launch of these facilities in our province so that we also benefit from quality services being provided,” he said.

Chief Nyamphande said people should not just criticise the use of mobile hospitals without understanding the kind of services they helped to provide in needy rurals areas.

He was happy that despite distribution of mobile hospitals, President Banda’s Government had also continued with the immense programme to construct more hospitals, schools and upgrading roads in all parts of the country.

He said though some areas still faced challenges, Zambia was currently recording unprecedented development projects that had helped improve the economy through President Banda’s hardwork.

And more than 1,600 patients have been treated using mobile hospital facilities in Masaiti District.

The mobile hospital facilities would now shift to Lufwanyama after completing the exercise in Masaiti District.

Copperbelt Mobile Hospital Services coordinator Alex Makupe said the mobile hospital had continued to receive overwhelming cases for treatment.

“We have completed our five-day exercise in Masaiti. I should say the response was so overwhelming that we had to refer the other 300 patients to Ibenga and Ndola Central hospitals following the completion of the five-day long service provision in the area,” he said.

He said the medical staff was seeing between 350 and 400 people per day in Masaiti and most of these people had some medical conditions which needed to be operated on in the theatre and also needed further medical attention.

“We only managed to treat 1,632 patients and more than 300 were referred to St Theresa Hospital which is based at Ibenga Mission in Mpongwe and Ndola Central hospitals,” Dr Makupe said.

He said apart from working for extra one to two hours every day the mobile hospital services engaged three more additional staff.

He said despite the overwhelming demand for the mobile hospital services, the staff managed to treat more people in Masaiti compared to other areas.

“Our working speed using the mobile hospital unit is improving such that we treated over 1,632 patients in Masaiti despite working under extreme pressure while we treated 1,300 people in Mpongwe and a similar number of patients in Ndeke village in Kitwe after the launch in Kitwe last month,” he said.

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