Story by Abigirl Tembo, Health Editor
VICE President and Minister of Health and Child Care, General (Rtd) Dr Constantino Chiwenga visited Ms Blessing Bonda at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals who underwent open heart surgery this Thursday morning.
The team of specialist doctors and nurses at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals is being led by specialist cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, Dr Simukayi Machawira.
According to Dr Machawira, approximately 4 000 children that are born each year in Zimbabwe need some sort of open heart surgery for them to be able to survive.
“The country has a burden of rheumatic heart disease which, unfortunately, is very much poorly documented at the moment, we have between 500 and 600 patients with rheumatic heart disease awaiting surgery,” said Dr Machawira.
So far, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals remains the only hospital in the private and public sectors that can do open heart surgeries, with plans underway to decentralise the surgeries countrywide.
