10,000 Treated At Mobile Hospitals

4 May 2011

The review of the performance of the mobile hospitals by the Public Health Partnership Forum (PHPF) has shown that more than 10,000 people have accessed treatment so far while people in areas not catered for are asking the Government for a speedy procurement of the services.

PHPF communications manager Enoch Kaputula said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that there were high expectations on the performance of the mobile hospitals, which had actually been exceeded considering the value they were adding to the health sector.

He said his organisation had gone round some selected areas and that the people of Choma and Namwala especially Kavulamwanda area haveasked government to procure the mobile hospitals for them.

Mr Kaputula said the Government had been exonerated from allegations of having procured the mobile hospitals without considering the terrain, availability of medicines and equipment and the staffing levels.

He said the hospitals were self-contained and medical personnel were able to treat any type of illness which had helped the people a lot.

Mr Kaputula said Zambians had an opportunity to use health services that would follow them to their areas which had never happened before.

He said criticism from the opposition political parties and the civil society organisations aligned to the opposition was clearly misplaced but pride would make them fail to own up and retract their statements.

Mr Kaputula said such NGOs should conduct their own assessments on how the mobile hospitals were performing instead of misleading Zambians on a good gesture.

He said many critical leaders, including those from the civil society had access to expensive medical services and did not want to support the procurement of mobile hospitals for political gain.

“Why have they kept quiet now that people are accessing these services in huge numbers? Why are they now not saying what they have beensaying? It is wrong to oppose something which you have not tested,” Mr Kaputula said.

He said while it was important to construct more hospitals, health posts and clinics in the country side, the mobile hospitals wouldremain cardinal to compliment the established health structures.

Mr Kaputula said the government should procure more mobile hospitals so that all the 73 districts were catered for because the demand wasvery high in the areas which do not have such facilities.

He said the figures of people who had accessed treatment so far was very encouraging and advised the ministry of health to compile monthlyfigures to guide the nation on the performance of the mobile hospitals.

Mr Kaputula said the 10,000 patients only covered the areas that had been assessed by PHPF and that such figures could be higher if datafrom the rest of the areas that had been serviced with mobile hospitals were included.

Zambia Congress of Trade Unions president Leonard Hikaumba said a process was under way for the congress to understand the performanceof the mobile hospitals and that and that a position would be communicated in due course.

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