Ace Hoe

Hello Crime Watch. Please help me share this. It is very painful for me to write this, but I believe our healthcare system needs urgent attention from those in authority. My niece went into premature labour on Saturday, and we rushed her to Harare Hospital. However, the process of getting help was very long, even though she was in serious pain. The nurses eventually admitted her after she had been lying on the floor in pain. She spent the entire night in labour. At around 5 am, we called her and heard her groaning in pain. She told us that she could feel the baby coming. However, there were no nurses around to assist her. She spent almost an hour crying out for help without receiving the attention she desperately needed. At around 7 am, we received a call from a nurse telling us that our relative was thirsty and needed water. The nurse asked us to send money through EcoCash so that they could buy her water. It was around this time that the nurses started attending to her, and she eventually gave birth. Sadly, the baby only survived for a few minutes before passing away. As a family, we are deeply hurt and struggling to understand why a patient who had been admitted with premature labour was left without proper attention or supervision for so long. We cannot say for certain whether the delay caused the baby’s death, but the experience has left us with serious concerns about the care she received. Our healthcare sector needs urgent intervention. Patients who arrive at public hospitals in pain and distress deserve timely medical attention, proper monitoring and compassionate care. No patient should have to cry out for help for nearly an hour without assistance. Does this mean that people who cannot afford private hospitals must continue to suffer like this? What happens to ordinary citizens who depend entirely on public hospitals for medical care? @MoHCCZim