Old Mutare Hospital
Old Mutare Hospital is a United Methodist institution located in the Mutasa District of Manicaland Province
Old Mutare Hospital is a United Methodist institution located in the Mutasa District of Manicaland Province, in the eastern part of Zimbabwe — about 2 kilometers, or just over a mile ─ from Africa University. It serves a surrounding population of about 15,000, mainly from nearby rural areas, nearby schools and Africa University, with some patients coming from beyond these areas. Outside the district, the hospital supervises six United Methodist rural health centers through monthly administrative and treatment visits.
The hospital conducts about 600 deliveries per year. The hospital provides prenatal, postnatal and services for children under 5. The government of Zimbabwe has tried to improve maternal health by offering free access to health care for pregnant women and children under the age of 5.
It has a 30-bed maternity unit with operating room, antenatal ward, postnatal ward, a family and child unit, and a 12-bed waiting mothers’ shelter that is always full.
The maternity waiting shelter houses mothers with difficulties getting health care. Maternity waiting shelters are established in rural areas for women who live far from the health facilities and where transport is poor and at times not available. These women stay at the shelter to await the onset of labor. Women are admitted to a waiting home at 36 weeks of pregnancy. Normal delivery is at 38 to 40 weeks.
By implementing a maternity waiting shelter, the hospital hopes to prevent maternal death by improving access to skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care, for women in remote areas.
The shelter has three rooms designed to accommodate 12 waiting mothers, but often holds 20-30 mothers due to the high volume of pregnant women in need of this service
