Bulawayo,(New Ziana) – Private laboratories in the city are facing stiff competition following the recent commissioning of a new 52-room diagnostic facility at the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH).
The state-of-the-art facility, which houses departments such as haematology and biochemistry, has capacity to diagnose highly infectious diseases such as Ebola, a development that demonstrates government commitment to transform major referral hospitals into fully-equipped, one-stop diagnostic centres, significantly enhancing citizens’ access to quality healthcare.
In an interview on Wednesday, UBH chief medical officer William Busumani said the development means the facility can independently conduct complex medical tests and diagnoses without referring to external laboratories.
“We are happy that this development has transformed this facility into a fully equipped one stop diagnostic centre. The laboratory is large-scale and has the capacity to diagnose highly infectious conditions, including Ebola. This means this has increased our diagnostic capacity as an institution,” he said, adding the new machines will ensure the hospital becomes a one stop shop for everyone.
“We cannot be seen moving sick patients up and down. This causes a lot of inconvenience, and they might be using public transport. This diagnostic laboratory means we only need to move specimens around the hospital. Essentially, you just bring the patient here for treatment,” said Busumani.
New Ziana
