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Herald Reporters

FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, through her Angel of Hope Foundation has donated specialised beds to hospitals in Bulawayo, Midlands, Masvingo, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central provinces as she spearheads efforts to ensure medical facilities are well-equipped to improve patient care.

The First Lady is the country’s health ambassador and her intervention comes at a time when the country is battling Covid-19, among many other ailments.

On Friday, seven specialised beds were delivered to central hospitals in Bulawayo, Mpilo and United Bulawayo Hospitals.

Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Aplonia Munzverengwi (in red) hands over some beds and other medical equipment donated to Marondera Provincial Hospital by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday. — Picture: Brian Manhiri

Minister of State for Bulawayo Province, Judith Ncube, praised the First Lady for her intervention.

“We are so grateful for these specialised beds which we are receiving as Bulawayo. We called the hospitals to collect them because we want all donations to be handed over to the intended beneficiaries as soon as possible.

“We also want those donating to see that as Bulawayo we deliver all that is donated which will also make the recipients glad,” she said.

Mpilo Central Hospital acting chief executive, Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said the beds will assist hospitals to improve patient care.

“The beds will help us care for patients during this Covid-19 pandemic and years later because they are very durable. Our gratitude goes to the First Lady through her Angel of Hope Foundation for this gesture,” he said.

In Mashonaland East, Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Aplonia Munzverengwi expressed gratitude to the mother of the nation for her intervention.

They received eight beds at Marondera provincial hospital and Mahusekwa Hospital.

“This is a deserved donation to our province from our First Lady Her Excellency Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa. Because of Covid-19, we now have extra wards and we appreciate this donation. It’s going to go a long way in assisting our provincial hospital to have enough beds for our patients. We want to thank our First Lady for a donation of this nature.”

Speaking at the same occasion, Mashonaland East Provincial Medical Director Dr Paul Matsvimbo praised the First Lady for her donation which he said enable citizens to “feel her warmth and her care”.

“The donation from Her Excellency the First Lady, who is also the Ambassador for health make us feel her warmth and her care through the donation of the eight beds which will be used for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU).

“They will go a long way to improve critical care of our patients in the province and so far our main centres that will be able to deliver this care will mainly be Marondera Provincial Hospital and Mahusekwa Hospital where we have designated areas for HDU and ICU. These donations will go to these two main institutions to improve critical care for all patients,” he said.

Marondera Provincial Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Cellestino Dhege said the beds donation had come at an opportune moment when they had just completed renovations.

“This morning I am really excited because we have received beds that are very important for our unit, the intensive care.

“We have just completed renovations and it’s really coming at the right time. Her excellency the First Lady was very predictive because they came at a time when we really needed them,” said Dr Dhege.

In receiving the donation for Mashonaland Central Province, the Provincial Affairs Minister, Monica Mavhunga, said she was grateful for what the First Lady had done and implored the corporate sector to chip in.

She handed over the beds to the provincial medical director Dr Clemence Tshuma.

“The eight beds meant for Covid-19 patients that we have received are very important to us as a province because they are different from the usual beds that we know. These are specially made for people who will be in intensive care, so they are adjustable.

“We really appreciate that we now have the beds that we were looking for. Since we have many more other centres across the province, we are calling upon the corporate social world to assist with more beds because as we stand, we have centres in Muzarabani, Mt Darwin and all over the province that need assistance,” she said.

Dr Tshuma said six of the beds will be dedicated to the Covid-19 holding bay at Bindura Hospital while the remaining two will be given to Mvurwi Hospital.