Govt in major Victoria Falls hospital upgrade

WORK to upgrade Victoria Falls Hospital in Matabeleland North from a 40-bed hospital to a state-of-the art
health facility with more than 250 beds, is expected to start soon.
Victoria Falls, the countryʼs tourism capital, was conferred with city status in 2019, hence the
Governmentʼs decision to upgrade its hospital to meet international standards.
Architectural works for the upgrading of the hospital are expected to be completed within three weeks
after which civil works start.
The expansion project involves demolition of some sections, putting signage, building of new structures
such as wards and staff accommodation.
Governmentʼs decision to upgrade Victoria Falls hospital comes at a time when steady progress has been
made in the construction of Lupane Provincial Hospital which will also improve peopleʼs access to
healthcare services in the province.
Construction of the hospital had false starts since 2004 but since the coming of the Second Republic, a lot
of resources are being allocated each year towards the completion of the health institution which is the
first referral hospital in the province.
Across the country, as Government implements its devolution and decentralisation policy, billions of
dollars have been availed to local authorities to fund the upgrading of health facilities to ensure people
have access to quality health services.
Solar systems have been installed at more than 1 000 health facilities across the country to provide power
back-up.
In Victoria Falls, infrastructure development and improving quality of services provided to both locals and
visitors is top on the Governmentʼs agenda, hence the upgrading of the hospital.
Once upgraded, the hospital will be a referral facility for Hwange district and surrounding areas.
Hwange has no district hospital and as such relies on Victoria Falls, St Patrickʼs, Hwange Colliery, Lukosi
and Kamativi hospitals.
A delegation from the Ministry of Health and Child Care led by Deputy Minister Dr John Mangwiro toured
Victoria Falls Hospital yesterday to assess its state and said work to upgrade the health institution will start
soon.
Dr Mangwiro said architectural works will be completed within three weeks after which civil works will
start.
He said Government will be working in partnership with the Victoria Falls City Council on the project which
will be funded by Treasury.
Dr Mangwiro said the growth of the city should be matched by growth in health infrastructure.
“Victoria Falls Hospital has 40 beds and when we came here for the first time during Covid-19, the hospital
was dilapidated. It was not providing many services but now it has an oxygen concentrator of its own
which can also feed clinics around the district,” he said.
Dr Mangwiro said Government intends to expand the hospital to 250 beds and the project has been talked
about for some time and now is time to take action.
He said hospital executives had been assigned to start implementing the vision at local level and produce
architectural plans in three weeks.
Dr Mangwiro said once completed, the new look facility will have no less than 20 specialists in different
areas like anesthetics, orthopedics, pediatrics and others.
He said the plans are in line with the vision of the Health Minister, Dr Constantino Chiwenga, who is also
Vice President, who said the hospital must grow rapidly in tandem with the cityʼs growth.
“There will be construction of new buildings to accommodate more than 250 beds and other facilities. The
Minister of Health and Child Care emphasised the need to move with speed and this is why we are here
moving Victoria Falls to where it is supposed to be in line with the 2030 Vision,” said Dr Mangwiro.
He said the hospital will be a referral point catering for multi-health functions.
“We are definitely moving very fast to ensure as the tourist city grows, we have the capacity to provide
quality health services to, not just the growing population, but to tourists as well,” said Dr Mangwiro.
He thanked Victoria Falls stakeholders especially tourism players for contributing resources to the hospital
and adopting some wards especially during the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Mayor, Councillor Somveli Dlamini, who was part of the delegation that toured the hospital, said the
city is on a rapid development trajectory as evidenced by new buildings and other infrastructure coming
up.
“As a city we have an international airport which is already attracting big airlines, hence the need for
adequate health facilities to cater for our growing population as well as tourists,” he said. Herald