Why MOI inpatients wait long

Dar es Salaam. Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) performs between 40 to 50 rare operations on patients received due to emergencies daily causing delays on inpatients handling.

This was revealed after reports suggested that some inpatients at the Institute were required to wait for up to six months before being operated on.

Moi public relations officer Almasi Jumaa told The Citizen yesterday that the big number of patients on emergency being taken to the Institute on the daily basis was the reason for the delays.

He urged relatives of inpatients to consult relevant officials for clarification when operations dates are delayed or called off.

“Most of these patients arrive at MOI in critical condition, therefore, specialists have to tend to them and ensure that their lives are out of danger,” he noted.

“All in all, our specialists also put at least 18 inpatients daily on their operations list. Sometimes the number rises to 20. But when it comes to emergency patients, the number varies depending on the reported cases on particular day,” he added. He assured that the Institute was well equipped and manned to carry out even the most complicated operations.

Meanwhile, Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) public relations officer Aminiel Aligaesha admitted that congestion of patients for Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) and CT-scan services was unavoidable due to the fact that there was huge demand of diagnostic services at the country’s largest health facility.

“Between 30 to 40 patients visit the hospital daily for diagnosis. A diagnostic procedure consumes at least 20 minutes depending on the kind of condition being examined,” he said. He noted that MNH was currently performing at least 50 operations per day compared to last year’s record whereby only 20 procedures were carried out.