Church of England: St David’s Mission – Bonda Mission Hospital
St David’s Mission
Bonda Mission Hospital
The first medical work in Southern Rhodesia by the Church of England among Africans began at St. David’s Mission, Bonda in 1928 with the arrival of Miss L. Adlam, a retired matron of Salisbury Hospital. With the assistance of a grant from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), a hospital was completed the following year. Due to unavailability of African woman sufficiently qualified to train as nurses, the hospital closed for two years between 1931-1933.
The hospital received its first doctor with the arrival of Rev. Dr. Denys Taylor in early 1937. He was joined shortly thereafter by Sister Lorna Page. At that time, the hospital consisted of a main block with two wards and three small rooms, including an operating theater, and three huts. The largest hut served as a dispensary. Over 200 outpatients were treated in the five months of April through August 1937. Dr. Taylor would go on to serve at the hospital for 40 years.
At its peak, Bonda Hospital had 200 beds and a total staff of 100, including two doctors, 51 nurses, an eye department and nursing school. In recent years, the hospital has faced challenges of a shortage of drugs, an acute shortage of staff, outdated equipment and unavailability of a blood bank.
References
- A History of Christian Missions in Zimbabwe, 1890-1939 – C. J. M. Zvobgo
- “Bonda Hospital is in the ICU,” The Sunday Mail, (05 Feb 2017)
Contributors
- Janet Medland Udy
- Mark Loomis