VICE-president Dr Guy Scott (right) talking to Minister of Health Dr Joseph Kasonde during the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of an Adult Medical Emergency unit at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka yesterday. – Picture by ANGELA MWENDA.
By VIOLET MENGO and CLAVER MUTINTA
VICE-PRESIDENT Guy Scott has urged the Chinese company contracted to construct a new one-stop centre and ultra-modern adult medical emergency unit at a total cost of K70 million to work within the stipulated time frame of two years.
Dr Scott told Hua Chang Engineering Company that the construction of the medical emergency unit should be done on schedule or earlier than that if possible.
He said this at the ground-breaking ceremony at Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital (UTH) yesterday.
“We have a very fast growing population in the country which calls for improved health services and infrastructure. According to one source, Zambia has one of the highest rates of growth of population in the world,” Dr Scott said.
The vice-president said it is not surprising that UTH, which was built in 1960 to accommodate the population of Lusaka, has become small and under-equipped.
“Similar projects will be done in other big hospitals in Ndola, Kitwe and Livingstone,” Dr Scott said.
The construction of the emergency medical unit will be done alongside reconstruction of a two kilometres road network and the construction of a double deck car park.
And Minister of Health Joseph Kasonde urged the health personnel that as the conversion and construction of the external part of the hospital are taking place, they too should begin the reconstruction of their internal attitude to patients.
“Let the two go together, let us see a beautiful reconstructed UTH and a beautiful reconstructed attitude of caring,” Dr Kasonde said.
UTH managing director Lackson Kasonka said time has come that Government has committed to financial effort to make a complete transformation to the outlook of the hospital.
“We are all aware that the buildings of this hospital over the years have undergone various levels of dilapidation. The commencement of civil and construction works shall see significant transformation to the physical infrastructure at UTH,” Dr Kasonka said.
And the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) has issued an exculpatory letter to UTH management over the disappearance of skin-lightening cream at the hospital.
On Tuesday, several boxes of skin-lightening cream were reported missing few hours before they could be incinerated.
ZAMRA public relations officer Ludovic Mwape said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the authority wants to know exactly what led to the disappearance of the cream.
“We have issued an exculpatory letter to UTH for them to put it in writing what transpired. We want UTH management to take to task those people that were involved in assuring us of security,” Mr Mwape said.
He said the creams were in the custody of UTH and the institution should know better what transpired.
Mr Mwape said the essence of destroying the creams was to ensure that the ointments did not go back to the public.
He said even if the UTH claims that it was not its responsibility to provide security in the place where the creams were being kept, the items were in its custody.
Mr Mwape also said pharmaceutical products were seized from a shop run by Lebanese businessman Ali Hachem because he did not have a licence to allow him to trade in those products.
He also clarified that creams which have gone missing were not expired as reported in the media but were seized because they were being sold in a wrong place.
But Dr Kasonka said in a separate interview in Lusaka that he has not yet received the letter from ZAMRA.
He, however, said it was an oversight for a worker at the incinerator to destroy the products in the absence of officers from ZAMRA and other relevant officials.
Dr Kasonka said there was a misunderstanding between an administrative officer and an incinerating officer after ZAMRA paid the money for that service.
He said because of the misunderstanding between the officers at UTH, ZAMRA became suspicious that skin lightening creams could have been smuggled out of the institution.
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