Harare — DOCTORS should expand their surgeries into fully-fledged hospitals and clinics that would assist communities, Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa has said.

Dr Parirenyatwa was speaking at Magamba Hall in Warren Park where Suburban Medical Centre was celebrating 10 years of service to the community last week.

He said the hospitals and clinics would assist communities access primary health care easily and timely.

It was vital for the Government and the private sector to complement one another in providing health care services to the people, he said.

"A multi-sectoral approach is the way forward. Government and the private sector must complement each other.

"We need decent, accessible and affordable health care institutions with a genuine desire to serve the nation," said Dr Parirenyatwa said.

He hailed the board chairman of the Suburban Medical Centre, Dr Emilio Mazhindu, and his team who helped set up the medical centre in 1994.

"It demonstrates that even among ourselves there are those that make lasting and indelible impressions.

"Here is some good work and vision of a few individuals," he said.

Surgeries, he said, had to match other health institutions but remaining relevant to the communities they served.

The medical centre attends to about 100 patients everyday from Warren Park and surrounding areas and has a dental unit, casualty department, wards, laboratory and a maternity unit.

Dr Mazhindu said his desire to serve the people by bringing them closer to quality health care had prompted him to develop a medical centre.

"Having worked in Kambuzuma and Highfield areas, I could not understand why people had to go across town to access service. I decided to develop a medical centre for the people, among the people," said Dr Mazhindu.