By SARAH MWANZA – in Kasama

.Dr Chilufya

HEALTH Minister Chitalu Chilufya has censured staff at Kasama General Hospital for lacking compassion following reports that an expectant mother was forced to give birth outside the hospital because she was deemed to have skipped the referral procedure.
Dr Chilufya explained that the universal core mandate of health practitioners was to save lives and that what happened at the hospital was unacceptable.
“Patients should be treated with utmost respect. Once a person is in our hospital, she or he is in our hands and how we handle them determines if they live or die,”DrChilufya said when he addressing staff at the hospital.
He called for the restructuring of systems at the hospital and called on the workers to be compassionate with the patients.
He said he was ordering that 16 more doctors be deployed to the hospital which currently has only 14.
Meanwhile Government has released US $18 million for the completion of 64 health posts in Northern Province where works had stalled after the abrupt termination of contracts.
Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya said Government had released another K2 million for the refurbishment of Kasama General Hospital.
He said this yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on Northern Province acting deputy permanent secretary Alfred Nyambosa.
Dr Chilufya said the construction of health posts would commence before the end of April.
The Minister said the vision of the Patriotic Front government was to provide quality healthcare services close to where people lived.
Dr Chilufya further said government would commence the construction of zonal facilities in June to carter for the densely populated areas in the province which had no health facilities.
He said Kasama General Hospital was earmarked to be upgraded to a central hospital before the end of this year.
Mr Nyambosa thanked Government for undertakings a number of infrastructure development in the province in a bid to increase health care delivery services.

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