The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
RENAL clinicians from Zimbabwe will next month get training from specialists from the Royal Derby Hospital in England, a move that will see local specialists getting the much-needed education and support to aid the health sector.
The team will be in the country for a week and will be based at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo while renal specialists will be drawn from across the country to attend the vital training. The training is aimed at improving kidney treatment and care in the country’s health institutions. One of the specialists who will be in the country noted the challenges that local specialists face in the field.
“The renal doctors and nurses in Bulawayo and across the country do a fantastic job, (but) they do not have access to the same resources that we have in the UK so we thought it was important to volunteer our time and expertise to be able to support them. That is why we decided to spend a week in Bulawayo helping with training and education,” said Dr Nittin Kolhe a Consultant Nephrologist and Clinical Director for Specialist Medicine.
The visiting team will work with Dr Stephen Kanjawo-Clinic Nephrology and Dr Solwayo Ngwenya the clinical director at Mpilo Central Hospital with the aid of Dr Munekayi Padingani the District Medical Officer for Matabeleland North.
The team from Royal Derby Hospital said they were optimistic that their visit would enable them to share skills and expertise with the team in Zimbabwe and also to make a difference in treatment and care of renal patients. They will also bring in with them medical equipment that will aid in the training.
Dr Xolani Ndlovu the acting clinical director at Mpilo Central Hospital said the visit by the specialists was going to benefit both nurses and doctors.
“The visit will be an educational one and is expected to benefit doctors and nurses from Bulawayo and Harare working in renal units. The topics will mainly cover lectures and demonstrations in vascular access using ultrasound-guided dialysis catheter insertions, ultrasound-guided renal biopsies and peritoneal dialysis catheter insertions,” he said.
Dr Ndlovu said the training is expected to improve the competence of local doctors and nurses in the care of patients with acute and chronic kidney injury, of which there is a large number on regular haemodialysis. He, however, said the ultimate solution for such patients with chronic kidney injury would be renal transplant, which is not available in Zimbabwe.
Dr Ndlovu said the renal unit at Mpilo Hospital is functional, although with inadequate number of dialysis machines and consumables compared to the number of patients requiring the service.
