MALE and female patients at Ronald Ross General Hospital in Mufulira are being admitted to the same wards.

The institution has also been admitting Tuberculosis (TB) patients with others suffering from non-contagious diseases.

This came to light at the weekend when Kantanshi Member of Parliament (MP) Yamfwa Mukanga presented a donation of wheel chairs, scanners, illuminators, sanction machines, infra-red radiation machines, and assorted drugs worth KR 500 million(K5 billion).

He said he was saddened that TB patients were being admitted in the same wards as other patients suffering from other illnesses, while some female and male patients were in the same wards.

Mr Mukanga said there was need to halt pilfering of hospital property, adding that financial and poor management were still a problem at the health facility.

"How can a hospital operate without an ambulance and incubators? That's why we are losing so many babies who are born prematurely. People of Mufulira should cherish the equipment donated. Everyone should guard the equipment," he said

Mr Mukanga, who is Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister, said one major problem facing the hospital was the lack of maintenance.