‘UTH TURNED BABY DUMPING GROUND’

NOEL IYOMBWA writes UNIVERSITY Teaching Hospital has been turned into a dumping ground for babies brought there by some irresponsible mothers, says UTH public relations officer Natalia Mashikolo. Ms Mashikolo said the hospital had already recorded six cases of babies abandoned so far this year. She said last year, the health institution housed eleven babies who were brought to the hospital after being dumped by their mothers. Ms Mashikolo expressed concern that the number of dumped babies being brought to the institution were escalating. She explained that the babies were treated and handed over to the social welfare office and later taken to orphanages. The public relations officer narrated that on April 30 this year the hospital received a baby, which was dumped after the mother who was alleged to have been admitted at Chainama abandoned it but that after investigations it was discovered the information which the mother gave was false. She also narrated that February 24, this year another baby was dumped in Chawama near a pit and that some Good Samaritan brought the baby to the hospital while the mother was identified and she was arrested. Meanwhile Ms Mashikolo has refuted reports that the Hospital is overwhelmed with patients at the highest referral hospital forcing management to turn away other patients who were supposed to be admitted. She said that the reports were not true adding that such thing has never happened at UTH and advised of the public to desist from spreading falsehood without any basis. The Sun