HARARE - On the 27th of March 2018, the Daily News published an article titled “Patients’ relatives join doctors’ protest.”
At paragraphs 7 and 8 of the article, the Daily News published a statement by a Mr Mxolisi Ngwenya in which the following allegations were made about Ambika Pharmacy at Parirenyatwa Hospital:
1. Ambika Pharmacy is believed to be owned by the Parirenyatwa chief executive officer Thomas Zigora, and there is suspected conflict of interest including misdirection of hospital drugs and deliberate faulty ordering to boost his pharmacy.
2. Ambika Pharmacy is a cash only facility.
3. Ambika Pharmacy charges double the normal price for medication.
The allegations made by Mr Ngwenya were false and Ambika Pharmacy wishes to respond to the allegations as follows:
1. Ownership of Ambika Pharmacy: An inspection of Ambika Pharmacy’s CR14 confirms that Mr Thomas Zigora is neither a shareholder nor director of Ambika Pharmacy and is not involved in the ownership and management of Ambika Pharmacy in any way. The allegations regarding the ownership of Ambika Pharmacy and any related misdirection of drugs and faulty ordering are unsubstantiated.
2. Ambika Pharmacy is a cash only facility: This statement is false. Ambika Pharmacy accepts payment through ecocash and they have a swipe machine from Nedbank through which they process payments via bank cards. Ambika Pharmacy also accepts most medical aid societies and displays on its wall a clear sign listing all the medical aid societies accepted by Ambika Pharmacy.
3. Ambika Pharmacy charges double the normal price for the medication: This statement is false. Parirenyatwa Hospital periodically audits Ambika Pharmacy’s pricing as competitive pricing is one of the conditions of Ambika Pharmacy’s rental contract with Parirenyatwa. Ambika Pharmacy has not received an adverse response to the pricing in the past 18 months.
Ambika Pharmacy is a private institution and therefore does not have access to the tender pricing which Parirenyatwa Hospital does. Ambika Pharmacy, however, consumes much smaller volumes than Parirenyatwa Hospital does and therefore does not benefit from economies of scale in the same fashion. Ambika Pharmacy’s make-up, however, is minimal to ensure affordability to the patient.
Ambika Pharmacy is operating as a service to the public, Parirenyatwa Hospital and the ministry of Health and is open from 8am to 12 midnight, seven days a week, in order to cater for as many patients as possible. Mr Ngwenya’s statement and the allegations he made are regrettable.