By Correspondent
Wilkins Infectious Hospital is seriously underutilized according to sources such that at times the whole facility has a mere three patients.
Revelations about Wilkins follow after complaints that Harare urgently needs a Provincial Hospital.
An official in the City of Harare told the Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) that a Provincial Hospital will help decongest the national hospitals.
Converting Wilkins into a Provincial Hospital has been touted as a low hanging fruit.
“(This can be done) by converting Wilkins Infectious Hospital into a Provincial Hospital.
“It has almost everything that qualifies it to be a Provincial Hospital.
“At current utilisation levels, Wilkins sometimes has two or three patients,” the City of Harare official said.
“There is also a four- storey incomplete building which just needs to be completed.
“At most the whole renovation and finalisation exercise require at most US$2 million and it will be wholly functional.
“It is currently very expensive to run Wilkins when most of the time it is underutilised,” he said.
HRT says with all these possibilities, Harare could be host to one or two provincial hospitals.
It said it can even have two district hospitals, which will significantly impact on health services delivery in the capital city.
“These opportunities require unity among key stakeholders to ensure that they are fully utilised to the benefit of residents.
Currently, there are two places designated for district hospitals in Harare.
The first is an open spaces at the intersection of Hebert Chitepo Avenue and 5th Street.
Currently it is being used as a parking lot for government buses.
The other site is a space near the High Glen Roundabout on the left side of the road to Budiriro.
However, land barons have been repeatedly invading this place and converting the land for their personal use.
