I recently accompanied a sick relative to the hospital. As we were waiting for our turn to receive treatment I could not help notice the stark difference between our local hospitals and the ones that I see in Western movies. Our hospitals look empty in comparison. A typical medical examinations is confined to thermometers, sphygmomanometers and stethoscopes. Conspicuously absent are any of the sophisticated modern machines such as EKGs, Defibrillators, MRI and CAT scanners that are routinely used in TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy.
For all our failures and troubles our country has come a long way in terms of technological advancements. These developments can easily be discerned in the Information technology arena. Yet in our thirst for fast broadband, powerful computers and escapades in the cloud it is very easy to forget that there are other kinds of technology that are just as, if not more, important than ICT. We have had to rely on countries like South Africa for medical expertise even with the most routine of procedures. Something only the rich are able to afford whilst the poor among us are left only with the prospect of death to contend with.
The neglect that our health facilities have suffered is beginning to show. Apart from oxygen tanks Intravenous tubes (drips) and needles and the occasional outdated heart monitors; the Intensive Care Units, especially in public hospitals, are death pens. As we were chatting with other people in the line someone shared a horror story I was able to verify later. Two years ago a Sixth Form student from Mt Pleasant High was sent home suffering a migraine. She later collapsed and fell unconscious at home and had to be rushed to an emergency ward where she was pronounced and certified dead. Later on, however she “miraculously rose” from the dead after spending the night in mortuary. It seems the medical professionals had erred in this case.
Such stories of people being buried alive or sent to mortuaries where they then suddenly regaining consciousness are not at all uncommon. The human body is extremely complicated and there are many maladies that mimic death which might result in some people being sent to their death when they are otherwise alive. It is a fact that our doctors would do better if they had the requisite technology that can help them do their jobs especially when making diagnosis and monitoring patients.
More often than not if you are not suffering from any of the common diseases such as malaria or cholera you might well be misdiagnosed.I have often overheard nurses tell their patients who are chronically ill, in hushed tones,to seek “alternative treatment” because “ izvi zvinenge zvechivanhu.” Things like brain tumors are often mistaken as being spiritual in origin something that is less likely to happen if our hospitals are better equipped with modern equipment such as MRI scanners.
In most hospitals that I know doctors still rely on stethoscopes as a the primary if not sole means of making a diagnosis. Whilst the Stethoscopes is a a multipurpose, cheap and heaven sent auscultation medical instrument that can be used to find out the root of various human ailments it relies heavily upon human interpretation and cannot be used to continuously monitor and record the patient’s heart rate or other vitals.
The lacking technologies are not limited to diagnostic equipment only but to monitoring equipment as well. The cited incident could easily have been prevented if the patient had been hooked up to an EEG machine that would have shown her brain activity and therefore proved that she was not dead despite all appearances. More chemotherapy and kidney dialysis machines are also needed for those who suffer from cancer and kidney diseases.
The earlier mentioned pupil is lucky that she did not succumb to hypothermia. I cannot help but wonder though how many people we have unwittingly sent to their deaths because of our ill equipped hospitals. I bet you an American ambulance is better equipped that most of our hospitals. It would be a good thing therefore if, in our rants and demands for fast and better internet and IT equipment, that we champion the need for technology in our hospitals as well.
Image via The London Fibroid Clinic.
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3 comments
Very true. And you don’t have to compere with developed countries. I had a tooth removed about two year ago in Zim in a private dentist practice. They just yanked it out, About two months ago I removed one in Gaborone. They MRId/x-rayed my jaws and told me that they have to locate the nerve first in order to ensure that it is safe to remove the tooth and they then discussed, in detail, what the procedure will be like when I come for removal. I had two visits but I paid for them with satisfaction since it was assuring that the Zim guy who was going to remove it had all the information he required. We have to come out of the khiya-khiya mode that seems to be engulfing most of our approaches to human problems.
Well the list is endless. How about we go in to the clinics, the nurses, the doctors, the ambulances, etc. The minister is caught between spending money on human resources vs to buying/maintaining assets. The neglect is so bad, it would need not only serious cash to revive the hospitals but also build the human capital required to run/man them. Right now the mortal in these places is low. Corruption, theft, fraud, is a daily occurrence.
As per my other comment on the state of piracy in Zimbabwe, I believe it all comes up the will of wanting to do right. And that guys starts right at the top.
I have 2 Biilion US$ dolars to start a private state of the art hospital in Zimabwe with state of the art equipment after I set it up I am given 400 million US$ by a group of black Zimbabweans who then tell me its the best they can do as of now they own 50%. Do I set up the hospital in Zimbabwe or set it up in Mozambique.