The Ministry of Health is in the process of establishing an ultrasound training centre at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).
Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Velepi Mtonga disclosed the development when she officially opened a three day ultrasound training workshop at UTH in Lusaka yesterday.
Dr. Mtonga noted that the establishment of an ultrasound training centre at UTH will help reduce the number of pregnancy related deaths among women in the country. Dr. Mtonga observed that the country has continued to lose lives due to lack of effective ultrasound services especially in rural hospitals.
She also observed that the skills which will be acquired from the centre by medical experts in various fields of the medical profession will help the health sector to make steady progress towards the attainment of the vision 2015 of providing equity of access to affordable, cost effective and quality imaging services close to the people in the country.
The Permanent Secretary said government alone is not in the position to adequately address all health problems hence the need for collaboration with various stakeholders to help speed up the implementation process in the health sector.
She said the partnership between government and other key stakeholders in the medical profession is vital in addressing some of the health problems that the country is faced with.
Meanwhile Dr. Mtonga has disclosed that government through the Ministry of Health has continued to play an instrumental role in devising, implementing and promoting the medical image of the country.
She noted that resulting from government’s commitment to providing quality health services to the people, about 71 hospitals country wide have been equipped with new ultrasound and X-Ray machines to help detect diseases in patients.
Speaking at the same workshop Radiological Society of Zambia President Beatrice Mwape commended government for equipping hospitals with X-Ray and ultrasound machines as well as human resource development.
She said this will help in the provision of quality health care to patients across the country.
However, Ms Mwape has bemoaned the lack of an ultrasound school to provide the necessary training to caregivers across the country and has since appealed to government and its cooperating partners to consider building an ultra-sound school.
The workshop which runs from the 8-10 February is being attended by various medical practitioners from across the country as well as researchers and professors from Germany, Tunisia and Uganda.
ZANIS
45 years of independence and still counting……..the country has never had such a training center or facility? :o:o:o
I am a clinical ultrasound consultant & teaching ultrasongraphy for more than 5 years in Bangladesh.If your Govt wants i can help you in this regards.
Morning Moderator
This only shows that MMD which took power after KK did nothing as far as development is concerned. At least Ba KK has got something to show and be proud of….
Its simple,government has a lot of money,just use that 5Billion kunda wants to give to NCC,and more over,what about all that money in foreign reserves we hear about,why cant we make use of it,its for infrustructire development right,so bring it on….
Misplaced priorities,govnt procures hearses to carry the dead,meanwhile there are no ambulances at health centers,hence a pregnant woman gives birth at soweto,the baby dies in public,the govnt is sued and has to compensate the lady,thats the mmd govnt for you!!!
Do we need to know every course that is introduced in the country? Suppose we had to know all the courses in introduced in UK, German, Japan, USA, do you really ba Minister have would have anything to do aprt from announcing new courses? We would have a Minister of New Courses. This is political ploy, but only for those who don’t know what is politics and social service. This is nothing, but 100% politics. What a disappointment? The Minister must be discussing policy and not announcing new courses.
what would have made news was the actual opening of the ULTRASOUND TRAINING CENTER than opening a workshop on ultra sound. chances are this training center may not be opened even. so why the hype? there is no date when the center will open. zambian news is as pathetic as politics
The Doctor says especially in rural areas deaths in child births occur> Now they are putting the machine at UTH which i know unless I’m corrected is not in the rural areas.So what have they solved??? Will the women needing the ultrasonic machine in Shangombo have it in their clinic at short notice, in Chadiza, Mwinilunga etc. Aah ungaleme nayo nkani yapa Zed.
Ultrasound training in 3 days! Radiological Society? How many Radiologists are in Zambia? Is this good news or mediocrity? Ultrasound training school at UTH? Why not just introduce the subject material as either part of Radiography training at Evelyn Hone college or UNZA medical school? This is duplication and waste. Next, they will be opening a traing school for use of a crane by engineers! But Dr perm sec was not the sharpest knife in the drawer!
Welcome back Mama PS, Dr Velepi Mtonga. I hope you had a success treatment in South Africa or was it India?
” if you are a professional at the blame game, you will always be an amateur when competing for success…” Mensah Otabil. Zambia is slowly turning into a critics society. Dont be champion at throwing cold water on good ideas. Perhaps read the current edition of Zambia Business analysis magazine article “public dept management”. Zambia economy has always been in negative growth since 1975 to 2005. Wat velapi spoke about was a good idea and MOH must be encouraged to ensure that it is acted upon. Dont be a judge, be a solution to pipos problems. Maybe u will have friends.
#9 HISTORY
You speak of things you do not understand.Perhaps I should enlighten you. Medical ultrasound technology was generally introduced in the early 1970s. Only the mines hospitals and UTH had ultrasound machines by year 2000, not counting those in private hands. My friend tells me that an ultrasound scanner costs from $20000 apiece. Most countries train Physicists, Radiography technicians, Midwives and doctors to do scans. So this is a post graduate qualification attached to Medical and Radiography schools. Where are we in Zambia today? You want solutions? Here is the cheapest and easiest solution: Add Ultrasonography to the syllabus at EHC or UNZA med school.
Ultrasound, C Scan, MRI, X-ray all these technologies are needed in all public hospitals not just the major hospitals.The problem is lack of leadership from the ground up and from top to the bottom.Zambians have money to buy expensive vehicles for ministers, money wasted on the NCC the list of mismanagement is long, These funds would have been used to buy life saving equipments for the hospitals.Zambia is where it is because of the gross mismanagement of it’s resources.A city of millions with less than 2 proper fire station and no proper ambulance service, No drainage system all politicians do is wish not too much rain come.Zambia needs leaders Zambians must demand, Failure to demand for leadership the Zambians have no one to blame but themselves.
We need these in all health centres in the country you nitwits what are waiting for?move your behinds now….
#11 Father Kwaanza
You have hit the nail on the head.
Dr Mtonga was Director of Technical services before she became PS. What technical services did she direct? I know that we sound critical, but the point we are trying to make is that these people in office in Zambia should not be given any credit whatsoever for the little too late that they do long after they have stashed cash into their own pockets first! The former PS and his Human Resource manager got very rich while on public service while the hospitals went begging for drugs and facilities. The list goes far back to 1991, many have come and gone and nothing to show for, except personal wealth increase!
As Minister of Health and with a wife specialising in midwifery how many Ultrasound machines did one Michael Sata buy? Soon he may be President. I gotta hand it to RB in that his UNIP blood of developing infrastructure is still running in his veins! May he long continue. as for PF/UPND, I have no idea who among them could look after the health of the nation because they are either lawyers ( who thrive when law breaking is rampant), or accountants (who thrive when companies collapse) or businessmen ( who thrive when inflationis high) or A farmer (who destroyed pigs and dished out compensation to his friends).
LT hasdistorted the last sentence with asteriks, so I will rephrase it…’A farmer who destryed porcine animals (p.i.g.s.)…’
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