(From Swazi Media Commentary 29 December 2009 www.swazimedia.blogspot.com)
Thank you to the reader who contacted me after I wrote about the cockroaches
at the newly opened Moneni TB Hospital to tell me this was nothing new.
The health services in Swaziland are a disgrace, they said. And they were
right.
A quick look at some recent cases proves the point beyond dispute.
Swaziland’s
largest health facility, the Mbabane Government Hospital was officially
declared a health hazard to patients, lodgers and other people residing
within its vicinity. An investigation found that the hospital was
generally failing to manage its clinical waste. This exposed patients
and visitors to the hospital to contagious diseases and other
infections. READ
Hlatikhulu
Government Hospital, the only referral hospital in the Shiselweni
region, faced indefinite closure after inspectors said the hospital
didn’t comply with health standards. READ
All
toilets at the Mbabane Government Hospital were blocked. Women in the
maternity wards had to go for days without bathing. When they do get
the chance to bath, they can only use the sink at the mortuary. READ
Government
hospital and clinics in Mankayane faced an electricity crisis which
lasted at least three weeks because of unpaid bills. It was reported
that the government failed to pay electricity bills for the health
facilities, so the electricity company cut them off. READ
Even
though it is the only hospital in the Lubombo region, the Good Shepherd
Hospital does not have an ambulance. The hospital is in Siteki in the
eastern part of the kingdom, one of the most drought-stricken areas in
the kingdom, which is often beset by sicknesses such as diarrhoea,
often caused by lack of water. READ
Mankayane Government Hospital forced
patients to leave after a water crisis hit the institution. Many
patients were seen walking out of the hospital wards. Some were pushed
on wheelchairs and others supported as they were led to rest under
trees at the parking lot. Pickup trucks with mattresses were at the
parking lot, while some seriously sick patients sat listlessly on
blankets, most of whom seemed disoriented. Concerned relatives stood
nearby, with folded arms. READ
Bodies at the Hlathikhulu Government
Hospital are piled one on the other as the mortuary has only eight
drawers. This is the same hospital that health inspectors once
recommended be closed because it was not fit to be hospital, but
government promised to seek funds to help rehabilitate it. A few months
later, the situation is almost the same if not worse. It was reported
that patients at one female ward protested because a body of a dead
woman was kept in one of the beds as there was no space at the
mortuary. READ
Patients
are being taken to the Mbabane Government Hospital’s theatre at their
own risk because most of the critical medical technological analyzers
at the hospital’s laboratory are down. READ
Mbabane Government
Hospital and others have a serious shortage of bandages. According to a
source at the hospital, a number of patients had their bandages left
unchanged, which left a foul smell in the wards. READ
And it goes on and on and on.
For yet more cases, go to the Swaziland Solidarity Network Canada Wikispaces
here.
Link
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/12/disgraceful-swaziland-hospitals..html
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