Bwaila Hospital temporarily suspends maternal services

Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe yesterday suspended services in its labour ward and theatre due to lack of supplies for maternal health services.

In an interview yesterday, Lilongwe district medical officer Thoko Liwewe confirmed that they had run out of sterilisation supplies and were referring critical maternity cases to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH).

She said: “We had an issue with sterilisation supplies and could not provide services in the theatre. Patients requiring such services were being transported to KCH.

“It is normal and that is what we have been doing all along. Otherwise, our services have not been disrupted. If you go to the maternity ward now, you will see women are receiving care.”

On why the notice was put on the ward’s entrance, Liwewe said she did not know, who put it there, but stressed that it was not endorsed by management.

But an insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the situation at the hospital has been dire.

“The hospital has been running on low supplies of critical things like gloves. Some staff in the theatre department has been raising the alarm on the need to replenish the supplies, but that has not been done. It is not surprising that it has come to this,” said the source.

During a visit to the hospital around noon yesterday, pregnant women were seen lying on their wrap-around cloths (zitenje) under tree shades, as did some nurses, possibly due to the fact that they were not providing services.

At least two ambulances were also seen moving from the labour ward, ostensibly taking patients to KCH.

A pregnant woman Alice Sandram, 28, said she had been at the hospital since last Friday and after a scan, she was told she was due to give birth either on Wednesday or yesterday.

The Area 23 resident explained that in the morning yesterday, some nurses that provides care in the Maternity Ward gathered all the expectant women there to inform them that due to a shortage of supplies in the Labour Ward, the hospital would not be able to provide services and that those in labour will be transported to KCH.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe acknowledged that the hospital experienced a challenge in the morning leading to temporary suspension of some services as the autoclave machine, which is used to sterilise equipment and instruments, had developed a fault.

Bwaila Hospital’s Maternity Wing is a 100-bed facility that serves as a referral for communities from over 11 other health centres.