Minj Health Centre closes down ward

THE Minj Health Centre in South-Wagi has closed its 20-bed ward for about a year due to a shortage of drugs and medical equipment.
Patients are forced to stay home to receive care and treatment.
The centre’s interim chairman of the Board of Governors (BOG) Andrew Gele told The National in an interview last week the centre could not admit critical patients due to the shortage.
“We have shut down operation of the wards for almost a year because the health centre could not keep them for treatment and medication.
“We haven’t got any assistance from any sources since the district health services took over the operation of the health centre.
We don’t have facilities for maternity and labour wards. Pregnant mothers are delivering babies on the floor.
“We operate on daily services fees of K2 collected from patients to pay for drugs, maintenance and ancillary staff,” Mr Gela said.
He said the health centre, serving the whole of South Waghi electorate apart from the privately run Kudzip Nazarene Hospital and Kawil Adventist Health Centre, had been operating without sufficient medical supplies.
He said his board had decided in a meeting last week that the centre would be completely closed down when medication ran out.
Mr Gela said the centre did not receive any funding from the K500,000 allocated for district services  improvement programme last year.
The National attempted to seek comments from the Anglimp-South Waghi health coordinator Donald Teveko regarding the situation at the centre and the budget allocation but was told he was away on official duty related to the deadly Highlands Highway two-bus collision in Mutzing, Markham.