Africa-Press – Botswana. There is need to upgrade Letsholathebe Primary hospital into a fully-fledged referral centre with the intention to improve healthcare quality.
Briefing President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi during his visit to the hospital, the facility superintendent, Dr Lebogang Mokotedi briefed the President that the facility had the potential to be a centre of excellence in service delivery considering its status and committed management team.
Currently, the hospital receive patients from Ghanzi, Okavango and Gweta for general special care.
“Upgrading the hospital to a referral centre will improve access and reduce referrals to Princes Marina and Nyangabgwe Referral hospitals. We have a desire to be a referral centre more so that we are in a tourism area and therefore have the potential to expand medical tourism,” she said.
She added that the hospital was among facilities undergoing accreditation process through Council of Health Services Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA) and they managed to improve their composite score from 55 to 74 per cent in last year’s assessment.
She explained that COHSASA standards defined systems required to enable the facility to provide quality care.
“The facility is showing positive trends towards the accreditation process and we hope that by next year the facility will be accredited. The benefits of accreditation could leverage the tourism industry and provide quality health care to tourists visiting the Okavango Delta,” she said.
She further said the 270-bed facility was commissioned in 2006 with some structural issues such as leaking roof, adding however that they had embarked on a vigorous maintenance exercise in a phased manner where they prioritised areas where they met with clients.
“We struggled with water leaks during rainy season causing serious health hazard to patients and workers. Water damage and non-functional generator led to blackout. Because of the leaking roof, the intensive care unit (ICU) never functioned and patients have been referred to Francistown and Princess Marina Hospitals and this denies them holistic healing of having families around them to support them socially,” she added.
The hospital superintendent told President Masisi and his entourage that there were high cases of urinary disease in their jurisdiction and were conducting some research to establish the cause of the disease.
The Assistant Minister of Health, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe appreciated President’s visit saying it would motivate the staff to go an extra mile in delivering services.
Mr Lelatisitswe said the ministry desired to upgrade the facility to a referral hospital but that would only be done when funds permitted.
“The accreditation process is a sign that indeed we want the facility to be a referral centre,” he added.
On shortage of staff, he said the situation was a concern across the country but noted that Ngami District Health Management Team (DHMT) received a new cohort of 10 Cuban specialists that arrived between December last year and January this year.
President Masisi has promised Hospital staff that he will visit them again to engage more on the challenges they are faced with.
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