Africa-Press – Botswana. Member of Parliament for Mahalapye West, Mr David Tshere, has expressed his appreciation to the Mahalapye DHMT for the improved services at the district hospital.
Speaking during a stakeholder meeting in Mahalapye recently, he mentioned that the Mahalapye District Hospital has seen a significant increase in the number of specialists, including radiologists, orthopedic surgeons, and pediatricians, among others, marking a substantial improvement.
This development, he said would ensure a reduction in waiting time for patients’ appointments, as there had been many complaints from the public regarding long waiting periods for checkups.
Mr Tshere urged the hospital management to take additional steps to address complaints, especially now that the hospital was offering a wider range of services.
He also expressed appreciation for the availability of drugs, mentioning that he had not received any complaints from the public so far. Mahalapye District Hospital Superintendent and DHMT acting coordinator, Dr
Kagiso Tshegetsang, mentioned that the hospital had improved access to healthcare and met the standard required for five basic specialists for a district.
Dr Tshegetsang stated that over the past two years, the number of specialists had increased from one to 14, including three surgeons, three orthopedic specialists, two physicians, two psychiatrists, two family physicians, one obstetrician, one radiologist, and one neurologist.
He explained that with this improvement, they were able to increase outreach services and record a decrease in referrals to private hospitals, which would save government money.
Dr Tshegetsang also said that the Ministry of Health had recently adopted a public-private partnership with private practitioners to provide services as a cost-saving measure.
Mahalapye Hospital was a participant in this initiative, with orthopedic patients from the region and beyond being operated on by private practitioners at the hospital, with 180 patients assisted through the initiative.
He said a kidney dialysis center was being established at the old Mahalapye hospital, catering to all patients in the northern part of Botswana. Challenges encountered, according to Dr Tshegetsang, included a shortage of staff accommodation, fleet, and the replacement of medical equipment due to limited procurement.
He also spoke about the high level of defilement cases referred from various settlements, as well as a high accident rate along the A1 road between Dibete and Mahalapye, which have claimed lives.
Dr Tshegetsang advised patients with minor illnesses to visit clinics near them for consultation so that they could receive timely assistance and be referred to the hospital if necessary.
Regarding the hospital not having an outpatient department, he mentioned that priority was given to Accidents and Emergencies, with patients assisted based on their state of illness, in order to save lives.
Mr Tshere advised the health management to report defilement cases to the police so that the number of pregnancies matches the reported cases, and the perpetrators should be punished accordingly.
DAILYNEWS
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