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Scores of babies die in hospital's 'death bed'
Bertha Shoko, The Standard (Zimbabwe)
January 27, 2008

http://allafrica.com/stories/200801280404.html

Harare Central hospital's neonatal unit is a deathbed. Many mothers walk in there with their children alive but leave with corpses," a senior doctor at the hospital said last week.

"I tell you those who come out alive only do so by the grace of God -nothing to thank the specialist or nurse for."

This is how the doctor summed up the state of affairs at the huge referral hospital's neonatal unit, which caters for seriously ill babies or those with varying complications, particularly premature and underweight babies.

Doctors say it is in this unit that sick babies are supposed to receive specialist care to restore their health.

But this isn't the case anymore at Harare Central, The Standard was told.

"My experience here in this neonatal unit has been full of pain, anguish and despair," said a doctor. "It has become routine to hear the shrieks in our corridors as mothers learn of the death of their children.

"This is how serious it has become. I am not surprised anymore to find at least 10 dead children in the tray every day, at the beginning of my shift, because the neonatal unit at this hospital is essentially dead and nobody wants to do anything about fixing things in this country."

The Standard spoke to the senior doctor while following up a report that ten babies in incubators had died after the nationwide power cuts on Saturday a week ago.

Upon digesting that information, doctor laughed, startled.

After gaining his composure, he said Harare hospital had more than 50 incubators. Only three worked - on and off. There was no way ten babies could have been packed into three incubators. An incubator has room for only one baby.

He challenged the newspaper to investigate the story further. A can of worms opened up. Harare Central hospital's neonatal has a serious shortage of essential but basic medicines. Life-saving machines and equipment have not been working for months and in some cases for years.

The neonatal unit is reportedly seriously understaffed, with experienced nurses and doctors quitting for greener pastures, to be replaced by greenhorns.

The hospital has been operating without a neonatalogist, a specialist in illnesses affecting new-born babies, since 2003.

"In the absence of this specialist, you have a critically ill child and an inexperienced nurse or doctor with absolutely no idea what is going on and how to save the child. This is why children are dying like flies here at this hospital," said a source.

It's been reported there is only one radiologist for Harare and Parirenyatwa hospitals and the army.

"What it simply means is that if a child needs an urgent X-ray, they can't get it," one source said. "While they pick up the phone to call the radiologist the child will be dying slowly."

The three incubators have reportedly outlived their life span, although they are functional. So, if there are ten seriously ill premature babies, seven will die.

But the unit has no fully functional monitoring equipment either, such as a pulse oxy-meter (oxygen check) and Electronic Cardiograph (ECG), which helps monitor how well the heart is functioning.

"A pulse oxy-meter helps to determine how much oxygen is in a ill child. If there is not enough, it's a sign the child may not be breathing properly and needs help," he said, adding, "Children are dying because of all these anomalies."

Then there are shortages of antibiotics.

"I tell you this unit as good as dead. They must just close it because it's a serious cost to the nation. We tried our best to engage the health minister (David Parirenyatwa) and he has done nothing. He is not willing to trade in his Mercedes Benz for three incubators that could save hundreds of lives."

Parirenyatwa said yesterday: "What I will tell you officially is that Harare Hospital's neonatal unit is continually being looked at for upgrading. I think the staff there are doing the best they can."

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