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Nqobile Tshili : Bulawayo Bureau

THREE nurses at Ingutsheni Central Hospital in Bulawayo have been attacked while attending to mental patients as the institution grapples with a shortage of anti-psychotic drugs to stabilise them. The hospital’s chief executive, Mr Nyasha Chibvongodze, told the Chronicle yesterday that the hospital only has 10 percent of the required drugs, putting the lives of both patients and staff at risk.Mr Chibvongodze was speaking on the sidelines of a handover ceremony of 37 mattresses donated by the Rotary Club of Bulawayo South.

He said due to the shortage of drugs, mental patients become aggressive and abuse nurses.

“Since January we had two incidents where nurses were assaulted by patients while the third one had his spectacles broken by a patient. However, we can’t blame the patients for this because they’re ill. We need the anti-psychotic drugs to stabilise them,” Mr Chibvongodze said.

He said Treasury released only $70 000 in February from the $900 000 that was allocated to the institution in the 2016 Budget.

Ingutsheni Central Hospital caters for about 2 000 patients with 400 of them being in patients while others are out patients.

Mr Chibvongodze said mental patients suffer from stigma as relatives shun them once they are admitted to the institu- tion.

“When their relatives leave them here they don’t visit them. Mental illness is a chronic illness just like diabetes. Do you neglect your relative because they’re diabetic? Some of these patients suffer relapses because they become unloved at home,” he said.

Mr Chibvongodze appealed to donors to assist the hospital saying due to budgetary constraints they were facing hard times.

He expressed gratitude to the Rotary Club of Bulawayo South for donating to the institution.

Rotary Club of Bulawayo South president Mr Roger Russell urged other institutions to assist Ingutsheni.