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BCC Fails to Fix E-Health Glitches

Bulawayo City Council recruits trainee nurses to assist nurses with e-health management programme. Image by NewsDay


BY LIZWE SEBATHA | @The_CBNews | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | DEC 7, 2020

The attempt to adapt to e-tech at council clinics in Bulawayo continues to bring with it challenges hampering smooth access to health.


Editor’s note: Following The Citizen Bulletin’s first report, well wishers have shown interest in working with the local authority to fix the e-health system glitches.


BULAWAYO (The Citizen Bulletin) — Bulawayo City Council’s (BCC’s) e-patient health management project is still suffering system challenges two months after it was launched with patients forced to spend several hours before being attended to.

The use of the new electronic health records (EHR), the process of e-capturing patients that visit its clinics in Bulawayo, was introduced in October as a novel exercise to allow the local authority to migrate to a paperless health care service.

However, council health workers and patients equally shared the frustrations of system challenges when the BCC’s EHR management system was rolled out in October.

For patients, it meant spending several hours in queues before being attended to.  

On the other hand, nurses were ill-trained and ill-prepared for the e-system as they faced challenges in operating the ICT gadgets and understanding the programs used in the e-capturing of patient data into the database.

As if that was not enough, network connectivity proved to be a challenge.

At the time, city fathers acknowledged the challenges, promising to iron them out within days, but several weeks later, the same challenges persist.


“We are overwhelmed; while we appreciate the noble project, I still feel that it was rushed.”
Nurse at Luveve clinic


The nurse complained about the added workload of e-capturing patient information on the EHR database.

The EHR project was initially supposed to be implemented around March. However, its rollout was suspended due to COVID-19 response restrictions.

In September, council said its health workers had undergone extensive training on the use of EHR, a system it adds will build on the existing electronic Patient Monitoring System (EPMS).

However, nurses deny the claim.

“If that was the case, we would not be having these challenges. It was rushed before all health workers could understand the use of this new process of e-capturing patients into the database.”

Council received the Network equipment for the Electronic Health Records (EHR) program from America Centre for Disease Control (CDC) through ICAP (formerly the International Centre for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs) in February 2020.

Installation and cabling of the health facilities was done in the same month with configuration of Wireless Access Points (WAPs) beginning February, 20.

Levison Moyo who was suffering from an unnamed illness was forced to leave the institution in frustration.

“I have been here since 7am, and the queue is not moving. They keep telling us to be patient when we are in pain,” Moyo said as he walked away from the Princess Margaret clinic in the central business district.

Princess Margaret Rose Clinic located along Samuel Parirenyatwa Street in Bulawayo Central Business District. Image by CITE


Several other patients in other clinics have expressed frustrations over delays in accessing treatment owing to e-health system challenges.


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Patients are flocking to council clinics where services are somewhat affordable compared to private health facilities.

Private Doctors charge anything from US$25 for consultation.

Bulawayo deputy mayor Mlandu Ncube acknowledges the local authority still faces challenges with its e-patient health management programme.

“Yes, change is always disruptive but it is necessary hence the challenges we have been facing,” Ncube says.

“Also, we have to appreciate that this tech was not part of their curriculum at nursing schools while also for some, it’s a question of struggling to use ICT.”

According to the World Health Organisation, e-health tools are designed to improve health surveillance, health-system management, health education and clinical decision-making, and to support behavioural changes related to public-health priorities and disease management.

Ncube says the council is addressing the associated challenges through recruitment of trainee nurses to speed up the process.

“We are deploying more students to help speed up the process. However, we are happy as our nurses are now adapting and familiarising themselves with the e-health programme.”

“We are open to any partnerships from individuals and others for assistance in e-technologies so we successfully migrate to a paperless health management system without much inconvenience to patients and staffers alike.”


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