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A team from the Zimbabwe Development Democracy Trust (ZDDT) visited Bartley Memorial Block, in Bulawayo, at the beginning of October.

The health facility was set up shortly after 1932, when the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) was established, and caters for elderly patients who can no longer take proper care of themselves.

Among the occupants is ninety one year old M’dabuko Dube, who was born in 1918.

Another resident is a former national rugby player who was rendered a paraplegic through injury.

Currently there are thirteen women and twenty men staying in Bartley Memorial Block which has a capacity of 48 beds.

With a total of 21 sisters, 6 State Certified Nurses and 30 staff members, nurse aids and general hands the facility is well staffed.

However, the health centre has several immediate needs.

The laundry services need urgent attention: Apart from help offered by friends, the unit cannot provide these crucial services to the patients.

In the past, linen was sent to subcontractors for washing, but their charges have since proved too expensive. Bedding needs to be changed on a regular basis for hygienic reasons.

The mattresses are another issue on their own...most being torn and in need of replacement. Toilet seats are broken and in some cases there are none.

A refrigerator in the staff kitchen and television in the living room, which produces neither sound nor a picture, needs repair. The recreational facilities should also be attended to as these are of significant importance, especially in a health unit.

Most of the patients are foreigners who came into the country as young adults and have no local family.

Mr. Elliot Mashingaidze, the Operations Director at UBH, has therefore been trying to link up with the Institute of Migration (IOM). His objective is to try and facilitate the repatriation of some patients to their countries of origin.  

Mr. Mashingaidze says, to keep the home operating, it is dependant on charity from the public in general, and the Friends of Bartley Memorial Block.  

One recent example is the donation of blankets, mealie-meal, cooking oil, bars of soap, beans and an urn (water boiler) by the financial firm Deloitte and Touche.

They also cleaned the grounds, repaired door handles and locks and fixed all the plates of the kitchen stove – a priceless gesture!