UTH waits of four to five hours: Health Minister promises water, laundry and solar fixes, but gives no dates

LUSAKA. Health Minister Prof Roma Chilengi toured the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) on Thursday 8 October, according to the Lusaka Times and ZNBC. News Diggers (10 October) quotes him saying that a patient staying four or five hours without being attended to "must not be heard". That is the minister's wording about reported cases. We found no measured waiting times. The Lusaka Times reports that Prof Chilengi directed management to fix the water supply quickly. He said it is not okay to run a hospital without water. He told them to recruit engineers to repair the heavy-duty laundry machines, because only one was working. He called for solar installations to back up the generator. He told managers that if doctors are short, they should work in the wards themselves. He welcomed UTH's facelift project and warned that staff who vandalise public assets will be held accountable. In Diggers he called for clear accountability and said efforts already begun must be expedited so the investment is put to use. These are directives, not announced projects. No deadlines or budgets were given.