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Mater Dei Hospital, one of Zimbabwe’s leading hospitals, has begun a multi-million dollar expansion project that will see additional facilities being constructed in phases at their site in Hillside, Bulawayo.
The Mater Dei Hospital which was founded by the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood (FMDM) almost 70 years ago after their arrival in the city on 2 February 1952 has grown from a basic hospital facility to the multi-discipline entity it is now, serving the greater Bulawayo and regional population.
The expansion project is in line with the hospital’s vision of becoming a leading health care facility, locally regionally, and internationally accredited, that provides superior health care and training in the country. This is a welcome development for Zimbabweans who have had to travel outside the country to seek specialized treatment.
“The development project will involve the construction of a number of buildings to house a retail pharmacy and a refreshment facility, a kidney dialysis unit with 18 beds, an Integrated Hospital Health Care Unit consisting of rooms for diagnostic endoscopic procedures, dental practice, audiology, VIAC, ophthalmology, general health care, pre-and post-natal clinic, orthopedic fitment, and consulting rooms for 16 doctors,” the hospital authorities said in a media statement.
“The net result will be to bring patient service provision closer to the Hospital, for the benefit of the patient, with the entire project estimated to be completed within 12-18 months of commencement and expected to cost in the region of US$2 million,” authorities said.
With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, the Bulawayo community responded, and through the generosity of many, the hospital established within three months a first-class Covid-19 Isolation Unit ranked as the best in Zimbabwe. It has directly contributed to saving many lives.
“The Covid-19 pandemic taught us that reliance on foreign medical services has been taken for granted with travel out of the country for medical treatment all but impossible of late. By making expanded medical facilities available locally, such travel may not then be necessary in the future. This is to the advantage of the general Bulawayo public, employers and employees alike, and this is what has motivated the development project at the Hospital,” the hospital authorities said.
Integrated Health Care is becoming a widely accepted concept, with a move toward preventative screening and catching medical conditions early. This is generally offered in ‘Primary Health Centres’ where common screening tests are conducted, and the Mater Dei Hospital is including such a facility in the new development.
Mater Dei hospital authorities revealed that very generous financing terms have been offered to the hospital by the contractors such as JR Goddard Contracting, without which the project could not have come to fruition.
Once completed, the exciting project will have significantly improved the medical facilities that are available to the Bulawayo public, the country, and beyond.