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Medical Shame

Home Archived Medical Shame

Revolting Scenes Found at Hospital

By Mbatjiua Ngavirue

GAM

Katutura Hospital featured prominently in the news recently when patients had to survive without running water for almost two days.

At the time, the Legal Assistance Centre called for President Hifikepunye Pohamba to declare a state of emergency in the administration of the health sector.

Katutura Hospital is clearly not the only health facility facing serious problems in the country.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social and Community Development visited a number of hospitals and clinics during their recent tour of the Otjozondjupa Region.

During the tour, undertaken as part of its oversight duties, the committee saw and heard horror stories bad enough to make the hairs on the back of one’s neck stand on end.

But it was not all doom and gloom at some health facilities, however. There were positive signs there might be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Otjiwarongo Hospital however must rank as one of the filthiest – if not the filthiest – hospital in the country.

The 166-bed hospital has 28 cleaners, which gives you a ratio of one cleaner for every six patients.

But litter, sand and all manner of other rubbish fill the gutters outside the one-storey buildings and the back of the buildings has the appearance of open-air refuse dumps.

There was no sign of any of the 28 cleaners – who all appeared to be AWOL – probably off doing their private business somewhere else during working hours.

An abandoned, forlorn mop-bucket trolley seemed to be the only sign that any cleaning ever takes place.

It took more than half an hour for the parliamentary delegation to track down the chief cleaner.

She finally appeared, winded and out of breath after seemingly having run a considerable distance to arrive at the hospital.

The poor woman however became tongue-tied when MPs asked her to explain the appalling state of the hospital, and could give no real answer.

Committee chairperson Elia Kaiyamo told both her and Principal Medical Officer Dr Azeko the committee would not accept the usual excuse of insufficient budget allocations.

Kaiyamo, obviously distressed by what he had seen, sharply told them that keeping a hospital clean did not require a special budget – especially not with 28 cleaners.

To be fair, Otjiwarongo Hospital has special problems other hospitals do not have to deal with.

The hospital is old, in a complete state of disrepair and lacks even the most basic equipment needed for efficient administration.

The hospital does not seem to have the capacity to handle the workload the Ministry of Health and Social Services expects it to undertake.

Dr Azeko said that with only five doctors, it serves as a referral hospital for Okakarara, Grootfontein and even Outjo – even though Outjo is in the Kunene Region.

A section of the hospital consists of pre-fabricated units, with the hospital supposed to have undergone renovations in 1996, but which the ministry has not yet carried out.

In some parts of the hospital, ceiling boards are falling down, the incinerator has been out of order for months and the mortuary which is supposed to serve the entire region can only hold six corpses.

Committee member Reggie Diergaardt asked how the hospital disposes of bloody swabs in the absence of an incinerator.

The reply he received was that they dump them in bins at the back of the hospital.

He was later heard to mutter in disgust “hygiene should be the highest priority of any hospital”.

The Special Diseases Programme, which treats HIV/Aids outpatients, tuberculosis and malaria, operates out of three former storerooms no bigger than closets.

Former transport minister and committee member Dr Moses Amweelo pointed out the hospital could potentially become a death trap in the event of a fire.

The fire extinguishers, which need inspecting every 12 months, last saw inspection in 2001.

The bitterest complaints came from the HIV/Aids in-patients, who collectively probably suffer more than any other group of patients.

They complained the nurses simply dump their food trays in front of them and then return to the nurses’ station to pursue their favourite pastime, gossip.

The patients however said most of them are too weak to feed themselves, while most of them no longer have living relatives that can come and help them.

One patient said they have to rely on help from family members of patients that still have relatives.

The same patients said the nurses are not even available to help patients go to the toilet.

Those patients that still have some strength left have to assist those who have lost all power to help themselves, they said.