Cases of abandoned patients at UTH on the rise

The University Teaching Hospital (UTH says it has been recording an increase in cases of patients being abandoned by the relatives.

UTH public relations officer Natalie Mashikolo says the hospital has been having cases of both babies and adults being abandoned by their relatives upon being admitted.

She says the hospital has recently had cases of abandoned patients of which four are babies whose mothers left them when they became very sick, while two are adults.

Ms Mashikolo says the hospital has faced challenges of where to take these people after being treated.

She says one of the abandoned patients is Soneya Phiri aged 38 who has been in the hospital since 26^th January, 2018, but has not been able to leave even after being discharged from the hospital.