Image: 123RF/HXDBZXY
A fire has gutted the Beitbridge district hospital theatre‚ destroying $3.5m (about R60m) worth of property in the theatre room.
The 140-bed hospital serves a population of more than 250‚000 residents and also caters for the in-transit population passing through the Beitbridge border post.
On Monday morning a fire suspected to be caused by an electrical fault destroyed theatre equipment and infrastructure.
Beitbridge district medical officer Dr Lenos Samhere said anaesthesia machines and theatre tables were destroyed.
“It’s a very unfortunate incident. Our theatre caught fire and important pieces of equipment have been destroyed. At the moment we are not in a position to offer emergency caesarean sections. We are mobilising equipment from the province‚ and we are using a small theatre‚” said Samhere.
The hospital is overstretched for resources. It has a shortage of staff‚ inadequate water supply and power cuts. It is a referral centre for 17 primary healthcare centres‚ handling an average of 350 deliveries monthly.
No injuries were reported and the fire department is investigating.
TimesLIVE
Source: ARENA Holdings.
