Government’s efforts to boost Bulawayo’s health sector have borne fruit after the launch of air ambulance services at Mpilo Central and United Bulawayo hospitals on Friday.
It is the dawn of a new era for Bulawayo, with people within a 200km radius entitled to use air ambulance services launched in the city on Friday.
Bulawayo residents are happy with the new development.
“We as residents of Bulawayo are very excited to have received this helicopter because we now believe that people in emergency situations will be reached quickly and lives saved,” a resident said.
Another said: “We have always heard about this from movies and other countries, and finally we too have become beneficiaries of this wonderful service. We are grateful for the leadership of our president who has enabled us to have these things.”
“This is a sign that we are definitely moving towards positive change. I have also been inside the hospital and have seen a positive change in our hospitals, and this makes us feel safe bringing our relatives here knowing that services are improving,” one resident added.
Dr Narcissius Dzvanga, Mpilo’s Chief Medical Officer, said the ambulance service would be a game changer towards the goal of Universal Health Coverage for the Second Republic.
“We are very excited to be a new recipient of air medical services, and this will go a long way in reaching emergency timeouts effectively.”
Services are provided by the government in partnership with Russian Emergency Helicopter Services.
“We will officially bring the two helicopters in November once we have an office here, then we will start training staff to handle these air ambulance aircraft. This is a testament to the good relations between the government of Zimbabwe and the Russian government,” said Deputy Medical Director of the Russian Emergency Services, Eugene Kipakin. .
The helicopters are part of government efforts to modernize the health sector towards Vision 2030. zbc
