Residents of Nkayi have expressed concern over the deplorable state of the Nkayi Hospital, particularly the mortuary.

This was revealed during the scorecard meeting that was recently held by the Local Advocacy Champions (LACs) under Zimbabwe Christian Alliance. The meeting was aimed at scoring the services provided by the hospital as well as the Rural District Council (RDC).

Besides the mortuary that was not functional, they also complained about the shortage of ambulances at the hospital. Speaking during the meeting, the hospital representative, Mr Hlabangana said there was a lot of work pending at the hospital due to limited funds.

“The hospital is not functioning at full capacity as we have limited funds. As I am speaking to you right, we have a big problem, the mortuary is not working, that means dead bodies have to be moved as soon as possible,” he said.

 He went on to say that there was also a challenge with ambulances and that has forced people to look for their own transport to the hospital.

“The money that is being charged for ambulances is very little for cases that would have been referred to Mpilo Hospital. Besides that, we do not have adequate ambulances to carry people who would have been referred and at times we have suggested that people look for their own transports,” he said.

One of the pastors, Reverend Irvine Mthembo who is part of the LAC structures said it was important for the hospital to look for assistance where they are not able. He said there are churches who are running schools and clinics in other areas, if approached they could be of great use.

“I am sure that if churches are approached by the authorities to help with the hospital and the mortuary they would assist. We have some clinics that are running with the aid of churches,” he said.

Speaking on the side lines, the Nkayi RDC CEO appreciated the effort being done by the church in making sure that the council and other stakeholders provide quality service for the development of the community.

“The scoring keeps us on our toes as we work towards improving the services that we are providing. I am happy that our rating has changed compared to the last time and we hope to keep improving although there are some other areas that we still need to pull up our stockings,” he said.

The scoring process was done in Nkayi, Gweru, Chegutu and Masvingo.