NO ULTRASOUND SCAN SERVICES AT GOVT HOSPITAL

MBABANE – Expectant mothers wishing to know the gender or position of their unborn babies have to travel out of the Mbabane City or opt for expensive ultrasound scan services.

This is because the ultrasound scan services at the Mbabane Government Hospital have not been available for over a month, apparently due to the coming to an end of a work contract of the technician who had been placed there. An ultrasound scan is a medical test that uses high-frequency sound waves to capture live images from the inside of the body. It is also known as sonography. The technology is similar to that used by sonar and radar, which helps detect planes and ships. An ultrasound is used to create images of soft tissue structures, such as the gall bladder, liver, kidneys, pancreas, bladder and other organs and parts.

Blockages

Ultrasound can also measure the flow of blood in the arteries to detect blockages. The ultrasound scan at the Mbabane Government Hospital was mostly used by expectant mothers to find out the gender of their unborn babies or the position of the baby in the uterus so they could determine the type of birth to opt for. The said public healthcare facility in Mbabane charges E20 for an ultrasound scan while the fees at private clinics start from E350 up to E750, depending on the trimester in pregnancy. According to close sources, the ultrasound department at the Mbabane Government Hospital has been idle for over a month because the technician’s contract had elapsed and had not been renewed.

“It has been over a month since the ultrasound technician’s contract was not renewed. Since then, patients and expectant mothers have been turned back and they have to go to other public health facilities or go to private clinics if they can afford,” said the source. According to a gynaecologist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, it was fundamental for every healthcare facility, especially the big ones like the Mbabane Government Hospital, to have a functional ultrasound scan department. “The livelihood of women depends on ultrasound scans, especially when they are pregnant. What we are teaching now is for women to be scanned by the time they are two months pregnant so they could know if they have a normal or ectopic pregnancy. “Ectopic pregnancy is when the unborn baby is in the tubes instead of the uterus,” said the gynaecologist.

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