Minister of Health Roma Chilengi has instructed University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Management to fix long-standing water supply challenges at the highest referral hospital in the country, aimed at improving the provision of health care services. Professor Chilengi has also called…

Minister of Health Roma Chilengi has instructed University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Management to fix long-standing water supply challenges at the highest referral hospital in the country, aimed at improving the provision of health care services.

Professor Chilengi has also called for infrastructure upgrades at UTH, in order to enhance service delivery.

The Health Minister was speaking when he toured the health facility this morning.

“There is an urgent need to ensure speedy rehabilitation and upgrading of the water reticulation system, to improve health service delivery, it is not okay to run the health institution without water, so we need to ensure that this problem is solved quickly,” Professor Chilengi stated.

And Professor Chilengi has also issued strict directives to the management of the UTH to address systemic inefficiencies and improve direct patient care.

“If you do not have enough doctors, do the jobs yourselves, go in the wards and work, “he told them.

Professor Chilengi has further directed management to recruit qualified engineers who will be repairing or servicing heavy-duty commercial and hospital laundry machinery so that they are in constant operation.

“You cannot have only one machine working, whilst others are down, what if the one working breaks down what are you going to do? Then the whole institution is crippled, please, employ engineers immediately,” he told management.

The Minister also called for solar power installations at the largest public health institution, meant to back up the 1000 kilovolt genset, after staff complained that it consumes 80,000 liters of diesel per hour.

Professor Chilengi however, expressed delight that UTH has embarked on a comprehensive facelift project, aimed at improving infrastructure and enhancing service delivery.

Meanwhile, Professor Chilengi warned that hospital staff caught vandalising public assets will be held accountable.