Work to upgrade Victoria Falls Hospital in Matabeleland North from a 40- bed hospital to a state-of- the art health facility with more than 250 beds, is expected to start soon.
Victoria Falls City, the country’s tourism capital, was conferred with city status in 2019 hence the Government’s decision to upgrade the city’s hospital to meet international standards.
Architectural works for the upgrading of the hospital are expected to be completed within three weeks after which civil works start.
The expansion project involves demolition of some sections, putting signage, building of new structures such as wards and staff accommodation.
Government’s decision to upgrade Victoria Falls hospital comes at a time when steady progress has been made in the construction of Lupane Provincial Hospital which will also improve people’s access to healthcare services in the province.
Construction of the hospital had false starts since 2004 but since the coming of the Second Republic, a lot of resources are being allocated each year towards the completion of the health institution which is the first referral hospital in the province.
Across the country, Government as it implements its devolution and decentralisation policy, has availed billions of dollars to local authorities to fund the upgrading of health facilities to ensure people have access to quality health services.
As part of the modernisation of the sector, solar systems for power back-up have been installed in over 1 000 health facilities throughout the country.
In Victoria Falls, improving the quality of services and infrastructure to the level of a city and tourism destination is top on the Government’s agenda as the country continues to drive towards an upper middle income society by 2030.
Some tourists needing medical help were being flown to South Africa but the upgrading of the hospital will result in them being treated locally.
Once upgraded, the hospital will be a referral facility for Hwange District and surrounding areas.
Hwange District, in which Victoria Falls is administered, has no district hospital and relies on Victoria Falls, St Patrick’s, Hwange Colliery, Lukosi, and Kamativi hospitals.
A delegation from the Ministry of Health and Child Care led by Deputy Minister Dr John Mangwiro toured the hospital yesterday to assess its state and said work to upgrade the health institution will start soon.
Dr Mangwiro said architectural work will be completed within three weeks after which some of civil works will begin.
He said Government will be working in partnership with the Victoria Falls City Council, with Treasury funding the project.
Dr Mangwiro said the growth of the city should be matched by growth in health infrastructure.
“Victoria Falls Hospital has 40 beds and when we came here for the first time during Covid-19 the hospital was dilapidated. It didn’t have a lot of functions. Now it has an oxygen concentrator of its own which can also feed clinics around the district.
“This will go a long with the biggest plan that we came here for. The idea is to push and expand this hospital to a 250-bed hospital and we have been talking about this for some time but we said now is the time we put words into action,” said Dr Mangwiro.
He said hospital executives had been assigned to start implementing the vision at local level and produce architectural plans in three weeks’ time.
Dr Mangwiro said once completed, the new look facility will have not less than 20 specialist in different areas like anesthetics, orthopedics, pediatrics and others.
He said the hospital will be advanced such that it would have all services for locals and beyond.
The Deputy Minister said the plans are in line with “the vision of the Health Minister, Dr Costantino Chiwenga, who is also Vice President, who said the hospital must grow rapidly as the city is growing in terms of service provision and tourism.”
“There will be construction of new buildings to accommodate more than 250 beds and plans are underway. The Minister emphasised that we need to move with speed and this is why we are here moving Victoria Falls to where it is supposed to be in line with the 2030 vision.
“It will be a referral point and cater for multi-health functions. We definitely are moving very fast to make sure that as the tourist town grows, tourists also expect health provisions to be upgraded and have to be confident that if anything happens there has to be services ready for them. The Government of Zimbabwe is funding the project and the funds are ready but budgets will only come out when we say everything is starting,” said Dr Mangwiro.
He thanked Victoria Falls stakeholders especially tourism players for their contribution to the health facility especially during the Covid-19 era and adopting some wards at the hospital.
Victoria Falls City Mayor Councillor Somveli Dlamini who was part of the delegation that toured the hospital said the city is on a rapid development trajectory with a lot of development coming through.
“As a city we have an international airport which attracts big aircraft and for them to come, there must be adequate health facilities so that tourists can be attended to as soon as possible. So here the city council will be partnering Central Government to renovate and extend this facility as we look forward to have more beds so that it can cater for the local population and visitors,” said Cllr Dlamini.
Council operates Chinotimba Clinic after closing Mkhosana Clinic during Covid-19, and the city has two private hospitals and a few more private surgeries. – The Chronicle
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