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Bwaila Maternity Wing 'in Dire Straits' Over Essential Supplies

Bwaila: Workers worried of essetial supplies Bwaila: Workers worried of essetial supplies pic File Photo

There are reports of increasing absence of resources used to help expectant women at Bwaila Maternity Wing in Lilongwe where health workers say they are in perpetual shortage of essential supplies.

Those we have spoken to say the situation requires sounding an SOS as the situation is getting worse.

The health workers give as an example a case on Sunday 7th June of an expectant woman who needed to be operated on but could not because the facility did not have the right sutures in place.

The patient was referred to Kamuzu Central Hospital-KCH-only to be operated on five days later after losing a lot of blood.

“We are critically short of essential supplies like sterile gloves and sutures to use when operating, lignocaine to use when suturing women in labour, etc.

“We have been relying on begging from other institution for the past weeks but it's becoming critical now,” says one of the health workers we have spoken to who fears “the situation of not being able to provide the service to the most vulnerable population of our community”.

Another health worker we spoke to, blamed the ministry of Health and Central Medical Stores for the situation saying they are the organs that are “letting us down.

“The supplies are very erratic. We might have the supplies now and the next minute is not there. We didn’t have lignocaine for the past few weeks.

“Today someone brought a few ampules from private source,” said another health worker who opted for anonymity for fear of repercussions of coming out on the matter.

As we conducted interviews on the situation today, another expectant woman had been referred to KCH because Bwaila Maternity Wing did not have the right sutures.

“Very erratic in supplies. We work not thinking what will be available for us to assist this needy patient. It can be frustrating! We have to keep begging from other health facilities for us to assist the patients,” said yet another health worker.

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