Chakwera to open orthopaedics, neurosurgery hospital
President Lazarus Chakwera is set to open a new Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery Hospital constructed within Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) premises in Lilongwe.
KCH director Dr Jonathan Ngoma said the facility, has been constructed with support from the Haukeland University Hospital of Bergen, Norway.
It is expected to offer improved orthopaedic and neurosurgery services.
Ngoma said: “It’s not a new hospital per se, but new infrastructure and equipment. Otherwise, the services are the ones we have always offered in our old Orthopaedic and Neurosurgery Department, only that the new facilities will come with improvements.”
He said the new facility will start off with 72 beds and five theatres, but plans for expansion are already in the pipeline.
“We have reserved some space for more wards and other structures that may be required. That is to say, we are happy because this new facility will help us to decongest the main hospital and increase the number of patients who can be attended to at once,” Ngoma said.
The new facility was established in 2016 after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Health, KCH, Haukeland University Hospital and Christoffel Blinden Mission.
Among the partners who funded the construction of the hospital and purchasing of equipment are Norwegian philanthropist Trond Mohn and his family who contributed over $20 million (about K20 billion) towards the project.