Residents of Cowdray Park, especially pregnant mothers, can heave a huge sigh of relief. Over the past few years, they have been travelling long distances to seek medical treatment. Some relied on the satellite clinic in the suburb run by the Bulawayo City Council while others opted to travel all the way to Luveve and Emakhandeni clinics.
Those with serious health complications travelled to the already overwhelmed Mpilo Central Hospital and the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH). Seeking medical treatment has been quite a hassle and an expensive undertaking for the residents, but as our Editor-in-Chief Munyaradzi Huni reports, the people of Cowdray Park will soon be smiling all the way to their own state-of-the-art health centre.
Cowdray Park is considered one of the biggest constituencies in Bulawayo Province, with an estimated population of 75,000. In fact, according to unofficial estimates, Cowdray Park is the second-largest high-density suburb in the country after Harare’s Budiriro, but despite its fast growing population, the suburb had, up to now, no clinic or hospital it could call its own.
On 16 May 2022, the government realised that Cowdray Park was like a ticking health time bomb and started building the Cowdray Park Health Centre, which is now the pride of the suburb. Construction is now complete and all the requisite equipment is in place.
The provincial service administrator for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Nyikadzino Mavhundu, could not conceal his excitement when the Brick by Brick magazine team recently paid the health centre a surprise visit.
“As the provincial service administrator, I don’t have the right words to describe what this health centre means to the people of Cowdray Park. To say we are elated is a gross understatement. Before its completion, we prayed that the people of Cowdray Park would not wake up one day to an unexpected pandemic of some sort.
“Can you imagine Cowdray Park’s 75,000 residents used to seek medical services at the nearby satellite clinic? The clinic is small and was always overwhelmed. Some people travelled all the way to Luveve and Emakhandeni, certainly not an ideal situation. Thank God, the Second Republic remembered the people of Cowdray Park and built this state-of-the-art health centre.
“The centre will provide maternity facilities for pregnant mothers. There are also female and male wards. Although it is still yet to open its doors, all the equipment is in place and the staff are raring to go. We are ready to attend to patients once the centre is officially opened.
“The Cowdray Park Health Centre is meant to serve the local community. The nearest central hospital is about 20 km from here. Through this health centre, the government is fulfilling its promise of bringing medical services to the people’s doorsteps.
“Many people from the community are flocking here every day to find out when it will open. Obviously, they can’t wait for that historic day,” said a visibly excited Mavhundu.
Construction of the Cowdray Park Health Centre and others like it is being undertaken by NMS Infrastructure Limited, a British-owned engineering, procurement, construction and finance developer, specialising in key projects around Africa. The NMS construction manager, Don Frazer, confirmed that everything was set for the handover of the health centre to the government.
“Construction of the health centre started on 16 May 2022 and completed by December 2022. We are now waiting to hand over the centre to the government. In the spirit of empowering the younger generation, we employed youths from the Cowdray Park community which backed us to the hilt. The hospital is fully equipped with the latest medical equipment. Because it relies on off-grid solar power, patients should not worry about disruptions to services,” said Frazer.
The City of Bulawayo’s chief nursing officer, Sithokozile Hove, was walking with a spring in her step as she took the magazine team on a tour of the health centre.
“The Cowdray Park Health Centre is also going to have a maternity wing, so my role will be to ensure that everything runs smoothly. I have a strong passion in maternity health care, especially when it comes to mother-child care.
“There is a satellite clinic some 5 km from here, but it is overwhelmed and, as a result, it concentrates on antenatal and postnatal care basically. It does not deliver babies. Pregnant mothers were being referred to Luveve Clinic, which is about 7 km from here, for deliveries. From Luveve Clinic, mothers with complications were referred to Mpilo Central Hospital. But relief is on the way, because a theatre will be available right here at Cowdray Park Health Centre in case of labour complications.
“This centre is a godsend for the Cowdray Park community. We are really excited that the government saw it fit to build this health centre. As health workers, we are also excited because this makes our job much easier. What is even more exciting is the fact that the government bought state-of-the-art equipment for the centre, which also makes it a pleasure to come to work.
“I am so happy because mothers will no longer be subjected to agonising delays before they go into labour. Cowdray Park Health Centre is right here at their doorsteps. For our part as health workers, we believe in a healthy mother, a healthy baby and a healthy nation.
“In such a beautiful environment, you can’t afford not to give the best quality service. No doubt, the services we will be offering to our patients will be as beautiful as the centre itself,” gushed Hove.
The City of Bulawayo senior health promotion officer, Sikhanyisiwe Siziba, was equally upbeat:
“As a health promotion officer, my main role is to market the services offered by the Bulawayo City Health Department, with focus is on disease prevention. It is important to us to prevent diseases to ensure that hospitals are not overwhelmed with patients seeking treatment for minor illnesses. Therefore, our job is essentially to help the community to stay healthy. We also encourage those of us who are not feeling well to seek early treatment.
“To achieve this, we employ various communication channels, e.g., public announcements, posters, pamphlets, traditional and social media, especially in the urban areas. We also work hand-in-hand with community leaders.
“I would like to end this conversation by thanking the government for building Cowdray Park Health Centre because access to health is a human right. I have been working in this community for quite some time and I can say, without hesitation, that this health centre is a blessing for the residents.”
