Bulawayo residents who seek medical services at the Bulawayo City Council-run Northend Clinic are forced to stand for long hours while waiting to be attended to as the facility does not have a waiting shed and benches.
This was revealed by Ward 2 Councillor, Joyce Ndlovu, during a full council meeting on Wednesday.
“Your Worship, residents in Ward 2 are in need of better facilities at Northend clinic. The facility has no benches or sheds. The people who visit these places will be of ill-health. Having them stand in queues for long may be strenuous for them because of their conditions. Some end up sitting on the floor or on the ground. The absence of a shed also exposes them to harsh weather conditions,” she said.ย
“May we also have more Blood Pressure testing machines. The clinic is currently operating with only one. This slows down the process when there are a number of people who will be in need of having their blood pressure checked, especially pregnant women.”
The city of Bulawayo runs 19 clinics and Thorngrove Infectious Diseases Hospital.
Cowdray Park, the largest suburb in the city with over 30 000 housing stands has a makeshift clinic which can only accommodate a limited number of patients forcing residents to opt for Luveve clinic.
In February, the government revealed that Cowdray Park had been selected as one of the four areas which were shortlisted nationally to have a clinic constructed beginning of February 2021.
The need to improve health infrastructures comes at a time when the country is battling the Covid-19 pandemic which has claimed millions of lives globally.
