By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
THE Minister of Health and Child Care, Douglas Mombeshora, on Friday toured Beitbridge District Hospital as part of his wider visit to Matabeleland South Province aimed at assessing service delivery and addressing challenges facing health institutions.
The tour began in Maphisa , which is set to host this year’s Independence Day celebrations, before proceeding to Plumtree and Bulilima District Hospital.
Mombeshora concluded the tour at Beitbridge District Hospital.
Speaking during the visit, Mombeshora said the tour had provided first-hand insight into the challenges affecting health institutions in the province.
He cited critical staff shortages, particularly of nurses, limited land for expansion, and inadequate nurse training schools as some of the key issues requiring urgent attention.
“We are going to open a new training school in Mapisa, and it should be ready before Independence Day to possibly enroll the first intake,” he said.
Mombeshora said the need to increase training opportunities within districts that already have training schools, urging authorities to prioritize local recruitment.
“We want districts that have training schools to recruit at least 50 percent of their students from local communities. The former system was biased as only those with access to the internet could apply for recruitment,” he said.
Mombeshora said Plumtree Nursing School is expected to start operating in September, further expanding training capacity in the province.
“We want local people to increase their participation in the health operations of their districts. Where there is no nursing training institution, we want to plan and construct new ones as part of our strategy to double the health workforce by 2030,” he said.
Accompanying Mombeshora during the tour was Desta A. Tiruneh from the World Health Organization, who said one of the major constraints facing rural hospitals is the lack of adequate accommodation for health workers.
“One of the key challenges in rural hospitals is the shortage of staff accommodation, which often results in workers not staying long,” Dr Tiruneh said.
Tiruneh said vacancy rates in Matabeleland South are higher than the national average.
However, he said travelling with a senior management team had enabled them to troubleshoot some of the problems on the spot and begin strategising on long-term solutions to curb the challenges.
The tour forms part of ongoing efforts by the Ministry of Health and Child Care to strengthen health service delivery, particularly in rural provinces.