7/27/2019 PETITION CALLING FOR GOVERNMENT TO URGENTLY PROVIDE DRUGS AND OTHER MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO KAMUZU

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To: The Speaker of the National Assembly

Cc: Chair, Parliamentary committee for Health

Cc: Minister of Health

Cc: Minister of Finance

From: Members of Staff, Kamuzu Central Hospital

Date: 29 October, 2013

PETITION CALLING FOR GOVERNMENT TO URGENTLY

PROVIDE DRUGS AND OTHER MEDICAL SUPPLIES TOKAMUZU CENTRAL HOSPITAL

We, the undersigned, call for URGENT action by the State

Legislature and the government of Malawi to rescue Kamuzu

Central Hospital from its current crisis. Currently patients are

not being served effectively and efficiently because of lack of

basic drugs and medical supplies. This has led to unnecessary

suffering of patients and preventable deaths of Malawians.

There are no diagnostic facilities at the hospital. For example,

at the radiology department they have not been able to do x-

ray radiographs for more than a months running forcing

clinicians to blindly treat patients with conditions like fractures

or send them away to private radiographers. The laboratory has

not been able to do full blood counts among other important

investigations for more than 6 months running because the old

machine is broken down and there are no reagents. This is an

impossible situation for any hospital let alone a central hospital.

There has been no theatre supplies such as sutures, bandages,

face masks etc forcing the referral hospital to cancel elective

surgeries and only conduct emergency procedures. This has

left patients languishing on the wards waiting to find space on

the theatre list while their disease conditions worsen.

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Other support services such as the Central Sterile Supply

Department (CSSD) has not been able to efficiently provide

sterilizing services due to lack of chemicals and persistent

break down of the old machines. There has been a

longstanding lack of cleaning materials such as mops, soap and

disinfectants, a situation that has put patients and health

workers at risk.

The pharmacy has not been able to consistently stock supplies

such as bandages, sutures, medicines, gauze, and gloves a

situation that has forced health workers to improvise by using

plastic papers when handling patient with wounds.

Patients are being sent away to buy their own drugs at private

pharmacies because there are no drugs at the hospitals

pharmacy. As most of these drugs are expensive most patients

default treatment and end up complicating and dying. Simple

drugs like brufen and crucial antibiotics are not available,

patients turn to cry to and even insult the helpless health

worker at the bedside. What has made the situation worse for

the health worker is the fact that ministry of health has been

heard on media telling the nation that the situation has

normalised at the hospital when that is not the case.

At the moment, Kamuzu Central Hospital has one running utility

vehicle which also has a fault. There has been inadequate fuel

supply which has worsened the problem.

There has been an endemic scarcity of stationary for writing

patient case files and for day to day running of the hospital.This has forced doctors and nurses to write on wrappers and

even on cartons.

The mortuary has not been spared from the crisis, due to the

apparent increased mortality there has been inadequate space

at the referral hospitals morgue whose air condition and coolers

are not working exposing workers to appalling smell as the

bodies decompose. The incinerator at the facility is not working,

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human and other wastes are being unsafely disposed causing

pollution and posing a hazard to workers and patients.

Compounding this problem is the inadequate funding that the

hospital is currently receiving from the government. Despitedevaluation and the free floating of the currency, the central

hospitals budget has been cut to less than 30 million kwacha

compared to 80100 million which was given three years ago.

This is an insult to the managers and health workers, a sign of

lack of responsibility for the poor Malawian on governments

part.

We urge the government;

1) To provide basic medical supplies and drugs to Kamuzu

Central Hospital to serve patients effectively and

efficiently. Kamuzu Central Hospital is not there to providemeals and accommodation to patients but healthcare. We

took oath to save lives! We are here to work, give us

materials to work with.

2) To increase ORT budget for normal running of the Central

Hospital. The current 26 million kwacha the hospital is

receiving is not enough for a central hospital. Three years

ago, the hospital was getting 80-100 million kwacha per

month, 26 million kwacha today is nothing.

3) STOP Henry Chimbali from giving false information to the

public. Kamuzu Central hospital has its own spokesperson

that is trusted to give accurate information about the

hospital.

4) To provide health care workers with adequate personal

protective equipment such as face masks, aprons, boots,

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gloves etc. as is stipulated in the healthcare workers Bill of

Rights.

5) To send top government officials and politicians to

Kamuzu Central Hospital instead of flying them to SouthAfrica, India or other countries for simple ailments which

can be treated here. Why not improve the local hospitals

so that every Malawian can be treated here, equally?

Amathawa chani kuno?

6) On the Cash-Gate scandal, to bring all the culprits to

book. To confisticate all the stolen property and the

millions of kwachas recovered to purchase medical

supplies and drugs.

7) We want Central Hospitals to be semi-autonomous. We

need hospital reforms now! We want decentralization now!

8) we are calling on the State President, Dr Joyce Banda to

cancel her planned presiding over of the opening of the

dialysis unit at Kamuzu Central Hospital and the launch of

the masters program in Obstetrics and Gynaecology atKamuzu Central Hospital and to instead divert the funds to

solving challenges currently facing the hospital.

9) To start acting on the petition within 48 hours otherwise

the services will not continue to be provided at the

hospital starting from Monday the 4th of November 2013