Blantyre DHO commends Gateway Clinic
Blantyre District Health Officer Medson Matchaya has described the construction of Gateway Clinic in Blantyre as the best remedy the country could ever come up with for the congestion that used to be experienced at the country’s biggest referral hospital, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH).
He said this on Tuesday when the Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority officially handed over the clinic to Blantyre District Health Office.
Matchaya said since the facility was established, the pressure that QECH was experiencing subsided.
“You may wish to know that Gateway Clinic is treating up to 6,000 patients per month and you and I know that those people would have been causing pressure at QECH. We believe if we had more of such facilities we would as a district forget almost all the health woes that we face,” he said.
Situated a stone throw away from Blantyre DHO’s office and almost 500 metres from QECH, Gateway Clinic among other services offers out-patient services, under-five clinics and antiretroviral services.
“We hope that with this facility in operation, QECH’s challenges are now a thing of the past,” said Matchaya
Speaking during the event, Malawi Gaming and Lotteries Authority chairperson Billy Banda said the institution provided the finances for the facility as a contribution to the health living of people in Blantyre and surrounding areas so that health-related challenges are minimised.
“We are committed to doing more because we have seen the need is much greater such that other players must also come in to assist. We cannot leave it all to government because our key stakeholders are the people who seek health services from these facilities,” Banda said.
The clinic was officially opened by former Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Chris Kang’ombe in December 2013 to ease health woes in Blantyre dues to the absence of a district hospital.
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