09/03/2026
HEALTH MINISTER IN UNDERCOVER VISIT AT BWAILA HOSPITAL, EXPOSES CHALLENGES FACED BY PATIENTS
Minister of Health Honourable Madalitso Baloyi on Saturday carried out an undercover visit to Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe to experience firsthand the challenges faced by ordinary Malawians when seeking medical services.
To avoid recognition, the Minister disguised herself as a regular patient. She wore a red head wrap (duku), a simple dress with a chitenje, and ndi nsapato za Sofia, blending in with other patients arriving at the facility.
Upon arrival at the hospital gate, a security guard asked in the usual aggressive informal tone patients often encounter.
“Masiteni muli bwanji?”
The Minister replied that she had come to seek medical help. The guard then handed her a piece of paper with the number 205, indicating her position in the queue.
According to the Minister, the guard allegedly suggested that if she wanted to be attended to more quickly without waiting in line, she could pay K10,000.
She declined the offer and proceeded through the normal process.
Inside the hospital, she went to the reception desk where the receptionist asked if she had a health passport. When she said she did not have one, she was told to buy one before being registered.
The Minister then purchased a health passport and registered under the name Mercy Banda, stating that she was born on 12 October 1986 and lived in Kandikole, Area 36 in Lilongwe.
After registration, she joined the queue to see a clinician. While waiting, she observed several concerning practices.
She noted that some clinicians were speaking harshly to patients, while others were reportedly allowing certain individuals to jump the queue after paying K10,000.
In one instance, a patient who complained of not being treated right was told: "ngati mukuzimva kulemera, mupite ku Mwaiwathu (go to a private hospital)."
The Minister arrived at the hospital at 9:00 AM, but she was only attended to around 1:00 PM, after several hours of waiting.
She also expressed concern about the lack of privacy in consultation rooms, explaining that up to 10 patients were brought in at the same time and asked to explain their medical problems in front of one another.
According to her observations, the clinician was often writing prescriptions or notes before patients had fully explained their symptoms.
In her own case, she said that before she could fully describe her condition, which involved stomach pains, the clinician had already written a request for a malaria test.
The Minister said the experience gave her valuable insight into what many Malawians go through when seeking healthcare services in public hospitals.
She stated that the undercover visit helped her better understand the challenges patients face, including long waiting times, alleged corruption, poor patient handling, and lack of privacy.
The Ministry of Health has indicated that the findings from the visit will help inform efforts to improve service delivery in public health facilities across the country.
