It was like something off the 6 o’clock news. On Monday I was called along with a couple of the Heads of Departments at Chikankata to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on Health. I cannot tell you how nervous I was – Yes I can – VERY VERY VERY nervous. On a scale of Likert Scale of 1 – 7 (1 being not very nervous and 7 being very nervous) I was about 843. That’s right!

Anyway, not really knowing what we were there for and having waited for most of the day, we eventually sat in front of eight MP’s and were asked questions on anything and everything including our service delivery, human resource policies, staffing levels, our community work, our finances and infrastructure. It appears that Chikankata Hospital was one of two hospitals specifically chosen to appear before the committee for mainly positive reasons. On the whole it was good experience, definitely a learning experience and another experience to add to a very list of experiences I will never forget from Zambia (oo oo - 4 ' experiences' in the one sentence).

Most of all I was so impressed by my colleagues and realized that Chikankata is developing a strong management team which will really work well in years to come. I am the longest serving member of the current Hospital Management Board, indicating a real shuffle in the last two years. The guys who accompanied me dealt well with all the questions and have great expertise in their fields. It was great to watch them in action and if they all stick together and get good direction, it will bode well for the future of the Hospital.