2018-07-31Staff Report 2 Alvine Kapitako WINDHOEK - The Medical superintendent at the Katutura Intermediate Hospital, Dr Fady Ashmawy, on Monday said the health hazard posed by mice and rats at the Katutura hospital will be a thing of the past. Ashmawy said senior hospital administrators in consultation with a private pest controller reached an agreement to repel the rodents. Various poisons have been tested to see which option would be suitable to use in a hospital setting without harming patients, among them children at the hospital. One option being looked into is an ultrasonic pest repeller, a device that releases ultrasonic or high frequency noise in order to repel and eliminate mice and rats, explained Ashmawy. “The paperwork is done, everything is approved. We will have this very soon within days not weeks,” said Ashmawy. He said the option of investing in the ultrasonic pest repeller is to radically solve the problem of mice and rats that have been in the hospital for years. They are also getting rid of all garbage and things that are not used, said the medical superintendent. He said some patients are partially to blame because despite the availability of dustbins some refuse to use the dustbins and designated areas for refuse disposal and this attracts mice and rats. “The cockroaches and insects come for a reason. We invite them. But within a few weeks the hospital will be free of mice and rats,” said Ashmawy. Ashmawy spoke at a media conference to address allegations levelled against the hospital. Furthermore, he also responded to claims that the hospital is dirty. Ashmawy said that the contract for the cleaning services at the hospital ended last year November. “There is no private entity in the cleaning services anymore but the feedback we get on the cleanliness of the hospital is good,” said Ashmawy. 2018-07-31Staff Report 2
