The Adult Emergency and Trauma Centre (AETC) of referral Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) on Friday received a donation of 15 wheelchairs from Malawi Health Care Support (Mahecas) which is a grouping of Malawians based in United Kingdom.
The AETC is a point of entry for emergency patients to all departments of QECH and receives patients from within Blantyre and other districts who need emergency attention and are traumatized due to injuries and other health conditions.
Presenting the donation, Kenneth Kasambara Mahecas treasurer said his organisation decided to help the centre after appreciating difficulties patients with injuries and other emergency conditions face moving from one place to another within the facility.
He said: “Even after being dropped by an ambulance, it is difficult for a patient with walking difficulties to be moved from the outside into the hospital.
“This donation comes from Malawians and other well-wishers based in the UK and includes 12 wheelchairs for adults and 3 for children.”
Receiving the donation on behalf of hospital administrator, health service administrator Kondwani Chisi said the donation will improve service delivery at the centre and the hospital as a whole.
“The centre receives about 200 patients per day and this donation adds to commitments by government to ensure we give top service to patients here. For a patient to move from this centre to any of the wards within the hospital has always been a challenge and these (wheelchairs) will ease such a challenge,” said Chisi.
Commenting on the donation Dr Mulinda Nyirenda ,AETC specialist in emergency care, said the donation resonates with their core values of providing patient centred care.
She said: “Through this we will be able to provide comfortable transportation to those in pain within the hospital.”
Amecas has previously been involved in donation of medical equipment at QECH’s dental department and other general supplies in health facilities in Mzimba, Mulanje and Nsanje.
Malawi’s health care system continues to face enormous challenges hampering quality health service delivery mainly due to inadequate funding.
