zimbabwe experiances: week one

one of my highlights this week was visiting the state hospital, Harare's PGH. my expectations, given the image that the media in the uk portrays in the uk was that it would be of a lower standard than that of its kenyan counterpart, i was in for a shock. the place we cleaner, better equiped and managed than NNH, the private establishment that I was admitted to!

• all the beds had clean sheats, fitting the beds in nice colours without blood stains or holes,



• the bed frames looked as if they were stable not rocking precariously



• one person per bed



• smoothe floors for easy sliding of trolleys



• ample space in corridoors



• ventilation not in the form of broken windows- all the glass was complete and there were even curtains



• no appatent flys or mozis



• the food smelled good, a choice of rice or pasta, vegetables and chicken! served in plates and with cutlery (not mixed slop in a metal bucket served to you only if you have brought with you an appropriate vessel)



• the morge is fully refrigerated! and the place has generators for when there are power cuts (PGH has i have heard a pile -literally of decomposing bodies. i believe this as i have smellet it and have seen the look on the faces of my tracing friends from the red cross once they have been there to identify bodies. freshest on the top, decomposed on the bottom.)



• furthermore i did not have the overwealming urge to go and scrub the walls, they looked fine!

the imediate thing i notaced was that the place didnt smell. that putrid smell that eminated from PGH i cannot quite describe appart from the fact that it follows you all the way down the street. architecturally the place was also of a much higher standard, large storyed blocks interspaced with grass and trees, a kids playground and people strolling happily. the place could have been adenbrookes really!

ther was even a seperate childrens department with an xray, theatre, outpatients, waiting room...all the necesaries. plus more than enough staff dispite the poor pay (nurses getting less than 12 pounds per month) and all the cases we hear of doctors leaving for greener pastures over the boarders.

what was the most surprising unexplaned question though was the lack of patients- instead of the 1000 beds being full wards were empty. mens had 8 staff and 2 patents. there was only one delivery that day. and ICU with 2 patients... it was misterious and the doctors, nor the nurses could explain it. there is another general hospital but it is suffering similar problems. patients do have to pay but the rates are very low. where are all the sick people going?.?.?.?