By CHIDA SAKALA –

GOVERNMENT has reiterated its assurance that the modernisation programme involving public hospitals is well on course.
Out of the US$750 million sovereign bond, the Government allocated $29 million for modernisation of Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital (UTH), Livingstone General Hospital, and Kitwe and Ndola central hospitals.
The modernisation programme involves infrastructure upgrade as well as the procurement of specialised equipment for theatre, prosthetics, orthotics and blood transfusion, among others.
Speaking in an interview, Health deputy Minister Chitalu Chilufya cited UTH, the country’s largest referral institution, as one where tremendous progress had been recorded in the modernisation programme.
Dr Chilufya said the training of human resource and generally escalating the level of care with a view of curbing treatment abroad were among other activities.
“We are firmly on course at UTH where our diagnostics capacity has improved significantly,” he said.
Dr Chilufya said UTH had a catheterisation laboratory which was going to cater for cardiology services in the country, as well as a modern imaging scan ultrasound machine to improve efficiency in diagnostics.
Currently, some of the cardiac patients were being treated locally, thereby saving lives and the country’s foreign exchange.
An advanced ophthalmology equipment was also installed at UTH to handle all eye-related problems.
Dr Chilufya said UTH had seen new infrastructure such as the construction of a modern adult medical emergency unit, which was beyond 70 per cent completion.
He said that in the next few weeks, a ground-breaking ceremony would be held for the construction of new wards.
He said besides infrastructure development, the four tertiary hospitals were fully equipped with modern diagnostics equipment such as computerised tomography machines and renal dialysis units needed to handle complicated cases.
Dr Chilufya said modern laboratories and equipment had been installed in all health institutions in the country.