A recent media tour of the hospital revealed a series of major renovations aimed at improving the overall health delivery system.
Established in 1890, Parirenyatwa Hospital boasts 1 800 beds, making it a vital healthcare institution in the country.
However, the high demand for quality healthcare has led to an overwhelming burden on the hospital's resources.
To address this, major sub-hospitals within Parirenyatwa, including the mental health, maternity, and pediatric sections, are undergoing extensive renovations, with new equipment being installed.
During the tour, Dr Alex Stevenson, a Neonatologist at Mbuya Nehanda Maternal Hospital, highlighted the introduction of Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care, a groundbreaking approach aimed at reducing maternal mortality rates among pre-term babies.
"We're reducing neonatal mortality, although it's early, it's looking like we're about halving our neonatal mortality in this weight band from something like 50 percent to something around 20-25%. So that's already a lot of lives saved just in the few weeks we've been open," Stevenson said.
Furthermore, the hospital has invested approximately US$100,000 to establish a new pediatric theater, making surgery for children more accessible and friendly. Dr Macmillan Dzvova, head of surgery, emphasized the importance of creating a child-friendly environment within the hospital, stating, "The advantages of this is that if it's something dedicated for children, it can be children friendly.
“I mean even coming to a hospital even for an adult can be quite a daunting experience or a very scary experience. So this allows us then to design it so that it reduces the psychological trauma of being in hospital and having to go through surgery for children."
Innovations such as telemedicine are also being embraced at Parirenyatwa Hospital.
Dr. Yvet Turugari, a product of the Higher Life scholarship, discussed the implementation of real-time connectivity, enabling doctor-to-doctor and doctor-to-patient conference calls. "So this equipment allows doctors to communicate with other doctors remotely. So in the healthcare profession, it's not all the time that you know what to do as a medical doctor.
“Sometimes you need input from a senior or a colleague on what to do on a certain patient. So in those cases, we are going to make use of this equipment as PARI to provide expert advice to other district hospitals or provincial hospitals so that patients are not unnecessarily referred to PARI where we can actually help them while they are still there at their district or provincial hospital."
--JohnCassim/ChannelAfrica--
