The Avenues Clinic Managing Director, Sibusisiwe Ndhlovu
BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA
The Avenues Clinic has invested in technology and modern equipment as part of efforts to improve patient outcomes and create a safer and more efficient environment for critically ill patients.
The investment has seen the private health institution upgrade its Intensive Care Unit (ICU), High Dependency Unit (HDU) and Coronary Care Unit (CCU), with new monitoring systems, bed heads, moisture detectors and additional dialysis points.
The clinic’s Managing Director, Sibusisiwe Ndhlovu, said the technological upgrades were aimed at improving the quality of care while also making it easier for health workers to monitor critically ill patients.
“We are so happy to celebrate the opening of ICU, HDU and CCU unit, which is where the very sick people end up in this hospital. We have done quite a number of improvements in here,” said Ndhlovu.
Ndhlovu added that the clinic had also replaced the bed heads, which allow medical equipment and various gases to be connected at one point, reducing the need to share plugs and helping to improve patient safety.
“What this simply means is that all our machines are in one point. We are not sharing plugs, even in terms of safety for the patient, in terms of good clinical outcomes, we now have it all here.”
Another technological addition is a moisture detector installed underneath patients’ mattresses to alert nurses when a patient has wet themselves or when there is moisture that requires immediate attention.
“This will help the nurse to say, there’s something happening with this patient, so they will quickly come and change them,” Ndhlovu said.
She said the clinic had also significantly increased the number of dialysis points in the critical care units, from one to 13.
Previously, patients sometimes had to be moved to a bed with a dialysis point when they required dialysis, but the additional points mean patients can now receive the treatment without unnecessary movement.
“The big improvement is that we now have more points, we don’t need to be moving the patient, and it means that we can cater for more patients better, faster, and in a more comfortable environment,” she said.
Ndhlovu added that the technology was also helping to ease pressure on nurses by allowing them to monitor patients more effectively.
“I think with the use of technology, it will assist them. They are less stressed. They can just check the monitor, and then they can come and attend to the patient,” she said.
She said the clinic would continue incorporating technology into its operations as it seeks to improve patient outcomes and provide better working conditions for its healthcare workers.
The technological upgrades are being supported by significant investment into the hospital’s infrastructure and equipment.
The Avenues Clinic Finance Controller, Oscar Maradzamunda, said the hospital had invested about US$500 000 into the critical care unit alone.
“So in terms of the investment, we spent half a million into this critical unit and this investment was to upgrade our infrastructure and our equipment as well as the bedding,” Maradzamunda said.
He said the clinic had spent about US$4 million on refurbishment of the hospital to date, with plans already underway to upgrade its theatre in the coming quarter.
Maradzamunda said the investments were intended to improve clinical outcomes and contribute to the modernisation of Zimbabwe’s health sector.
“So this kind of investment that we are doing is to provide a good clinical outcome to the community as well as Zimbabwe at large,” he said.
He said the clinic also sought to complement Government efforts to modernise the health sector through investment in equipment and infrastructure.
Ndhlovu said the upgrades were part of a broader vision to ensure Zimbabweans have access to modern healthcare facilities locally.
“We have got a big story unfolding and we really want to be that hospital that Zimbabweans go to.
“And we are saying you don’t have to go to those other countries because there is no facility.
“We are here to offer that choice so that Zimbabweans know that there is a place to go to,” added Ndhlovu.
