2017-12-12Staff Report 2 Tuulikki Abraham Lüderitz The Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Bernard Haufiku, over the weekend waxed lyrical in his appraisal of hospitals in the //Kharas Region, saying staff at these hospitals have performed much better compared to their peers at health institutions in other regions. Addressing staff at the Lüderitz District Hospital management meeting, Haufiku said attitudes among health staff in the south are better compared to other towns, and he encouraged staff members to work harder together to avoid preventable deaths. He said the health ministry is undergoing a transformational process at leadership level, even though he was not sure how long it would take, but in the same vein he urged staff to maintain services, especially clinical and medical services, and that they should not let services suffer because of what is going on in the political arena. Haufiku said there are challenges in the ministry but most of these challenges are brought about by a lack of communication and honesty. He emphasized that it applies across the board, and encouraged staff, from cleaners to doctors, to communicate with each other. Haufiku emphasized that everything depends on communication and honesty. During his visit to Lüderitz he performed surgical removal of tonsils (tonsillectomy) as part of the health campaign, National Medical Outreach System, which was introduced last year. The purpose of the campaign is to accelerate the reduction of unattended (backlog) and emerging medical and surgical services in the country. Haufiku says the National Medical Outreach System will make a difference and save lives. Together with his team he will operate on 30 patients at the Lüderitz State Hospital. He promised that they are determined in keeping the campaign going until they have capacitated district and regional hospitals. Haufiku stressed that district hospitals, such as the Lüderitz State Hospital, must be able to do at least 60 percent of basic operations and be capacitated, which will require enough numbers of doctors to do their jobs on time. Haufiku promised that in 2018 things in the Ministry of Health and Social Services would change for the better. He implored health staff to collaborate and work together as a team for them to overcome existing challenges. ••••• Caption (Haufiku): 2017-12-12Staff Report 2
