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160 mental patients starve at govt hospital

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A FOOD crisis has hit Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital in Masvingo with mental patients at the government-run institution already showing signs of malnutrition, the institution’s medical director Parirenyatwa Maramba has said.

A FOOD crisis has hit Ngomahuru Psychiatric Hospital in Masvingo with mental patients at the government-run institution already showing signs of malnutrition, the institution’s medical director Parirenyatwa Maramba has said.

By Own Correspondent

Maramba said this during a donation ceremony of foodstuffs by a group of students from the Midlands State University’s Julius Nyerere School of Science psychology department on Thursday.

He said the hospital is now in dire need of assistance with 160 patients currently receiving treatment at the health institution surviving on sadza and vegetables daily.

Maramba said the economic hardships prevailing in the country have seen government releasing funds for patients’ medication, while failing to channel anything towards procurement of food.

“We depend on government for funding and we are only having medication for patients.

“The diet is very poor. Most of the patients suffer from malnutrition. They are having sadza and vegetables that have neither cooking oil nor tomatoes every day.

“We are appealing for donations from well-wishers as we are faced with challenges in providing relish for these patients, some who have found a permanent home at the hospital,” Maramba said.

The students led by the university’s psychology department chairman Herbert Zimira donated sugar, beans, kapenta among other items towards the malnutrition of patients.

“We started visits at the psychiatric hospital in 2015 for purposes of our studies, but we then noticed the critical shortages affecting the institution and decided that we should bring some of the commodities in short supply each time we visit,” Zimira said.