United Bulawayo Hospitals lab to offer Ebola testing

Sikhumbuzo Moyo [email protected]

THE state-of-the-art medical laboratory at United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH), constructed at a cost of US$1,5 million, is set to offer Ebola testing and screening once the installation of equipment is completed.

Construction of the laboratory was completed two years ago, but installation of specialised equipment is still ongoing, with Deputy Minister of Health and Child Care Sleiman Kwidini saying the process is now 75 percent complete.

The facility is expected to become a one-stop testing and screening centre, significantly improving the capacity of the public health system to conduct specialised medical tests locally.

Speaking in an interview after leading a provincial clean-up exercise at UBH yesterday, Deputy Minister Kwidini said the installation of diagnostic machines were at an advanced stage and Government wanted the facility to be fully operational as soon as possible.

He said the remaining equipment included machines for histopathology and the blood bank, which should be installed by the end of the year or, at the latest, during the first quarter of 2027.

“We have got one of the biggest laboratories here at the United Bulawayo Hospitals, which is going to do much of the medical tests required by patients and doctors to ensure that we screen all diseases, ” said Deputy Minister Kwidini.

He said installation works for all equipment at the laboratory, which he described as a one stop centre, was expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The laboratory’s commissioning is expected to reduce the need for public health institutions to refer patients or send samples to private laboratories or facilities outside the country for tests.

Deputy Minister Kwidini said the Government was determined to ensure that patients accessing public health services were not unnecessarily forced to seek laboratory services from private institutions.

“No patients from public health institutions must be sent to private laboratories. The only machines, which are left are for histopathology and blood bank. These should be installed before

the end of the year or first quarter of 2027,” said Dep Minister Kwidini.

The laboratiory will be equipped to test or screen for Ebola among other diseases as the country strengthens its preparedness to respond to outbreaks of highly infectious diseases.

Deputy Minister Kwidini said Zimbabwe has been sending samples for some suspected diseases to South Africa for tests which will be a thing of the past once the UBH laboratory is commissioned.

“As our President said, Zimbabwe is friend to all and enemy to none. We won’t deny people from outside the country to bring their samples for testing. According to what I hear from our experts, the UBH lab will be able to test or screen for Ebola,” he said.

Deputy Minister Kwidini said doctors needed accurate laboratory results to make informed decisions when treating patients.

The laboratory is, therefore, expected to play a key role in improving the quality of healthcare while also strengthening Zimbabwe’s capacity to detect and respond to diseases outbreaks.