KATIMA MULILO/WINDHOEK – The Katima Mulilo hospital faces an acute shortage of doctors, adversely affecting delivery of quality health care.
The situation is so serious that at times it takes over two days for a patient to see a doctor.
Unconfirmed reports also stated a child patient died last week after failing to secure an appointment with a doctor due to the shortage.
“The telephone lines have also been broken since last year between October/November and there are no communication channels on the hospital premises. If you need something or have queries to a staff member you will have to walk up to his/her office unless you have their personal cellphone numbers, which I consider to be time consuming. With all this I pity those from afar seeking medical assistance,” said an insider who requested anonymity.
When New Era enquired into the current situation, the acting hospital director Agnes Mwilima confirmed the doctor crisis but said they are working hard to recruit new doctors. “We are in the process of recruiting new doctors but for now the situation is still the same,” said Mwilima.
However, she was not keen to elaborate further on the number of doctors needed nor could she divulge more information as she was rushing to a meeting.
Katima Mulilo hospital currently only has three doctors responsible for over 70 000 people in the region that have no access to private medical care, relegating the majority to seek treatment at state hospitals like the one in Katima.
This figure, which only takes into account Zambezi residents living in rural areas, could be higher when taking into account urban residents that equally have no private medical care. What seems to exacerbate matters is the fact that emergencies that do occur regularly such as a surgical procedure requires two doctors to perform, thus leaving the outpatient department with only one doctor.
According to the latest census regional profile report, the Zambezi Region has over 90 000 residents with about 69 percent said to live in rural areas. The World Health Organisation (WHO), a United Nations public health arm prescribes a doctor/patient ratio of 1:1000.
According to information obtained from a well-placed source, for the Katima Mulilo hospital to adequately function it needs at least eight doctors. The hospital, which at one point last year had the full staff complement of eight doctors, lost the majority due to resignations.
It is not clear what prompted their exit.
The situation was worsened towards the end of last year with the expiry of the contracts of six Cuban doctors deployed to the hospital.
An elderly patient who waited to see a doctor yesterday but could not do so by the end of the day, noted it was difficult for him to spend a night in Katima Mulilo as he had no accommodation.
“I arrived here in the morning from the village. We waited from morning up until the afternoon when the doctor said he had to go for lunch.
From lunchtime we are still waiting and the queue is still very long. I don’t know what I will do now as I have no accommodation.”
Another patient who preferred not to be named echoed similar sentiments noting it was costly to travel from her village and spend the whole day waiting to see a doctor without success.
“The government must look at our plight. Some of us are impoverished; we don’t have transport money to travel several times to come and see a doctor. Some patients that are very sick sometimes wait for hours and hours,” complained the patient.
The upgrading of the hospital to an intermediate hospital in 2018 is seen to be one of the solutions to the acute shortage of doctors.
Katima Mulilo hospital is a district hospital with doctors that are not specialists and often times patients are referred to hospitals such as Rundu or Katutura hospital in Windhoek for treatment.
Information obtained from the hospital also cites the underutilisation of clinics and health centres by patients with minor ailments as one of the reasons overwhelming the hospital.
This reporter was informed that government has tried to employ foreign doctors through multilateral and bilateral agreements but the process has been very slow due to diplomatic bureaucracy.
As part of its long-term strategy, the Namibian government is also sending students for medical studies.
Last year, Health and Social Services Minister, Dr Richard Kamwi, revealed that more than 30 district hospitals in the country do not have a single Namibian doctor or pharmacist employed by the government.
The country instead relies heavily on expatriates.
A medical school was established with health training centres rolled out countrywide.