Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Minister of Health and Representative of Apollo Hospital Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which aims to relieve the Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) at a signing ceremony that took place in Maseru on Tuesday.
Showing the government’s appreciation to the Apollo Hospital Group regarding the agreement to work with the Lesotho government, the Minister of Health, Mr. Semano Sekatle thanked the Apollo Hospital Group, saying the two countries have good bilateral working relations.
He said the agreement is meant for the two countries to work together, saying over 70 patients with cancer have been treated in India whereby two died, eight were treated with kidney transplantation, and one died upon her arrival in Lesotho.
Mr. Sekatle noted that some of the QMMH staff were recruited in India including a doctor who specialised in kidney transplantation in Mapoteng. He added that expenses will be tremendously reduced for patients who were sent to India for cancer treatment and kidney transplantation as all the services will be administered locally.
The Minister has pleaded with the public not to panic for fear of QMMH being annexed, saying the Apollo people are here to help the ministry to administer the hospital and improve health services.
The Representative of the Apollo Hospital Group Vice-President- Corporate Development Head of International Business, Dr Harinder Singh Sidhu commended the government of Lesotho for the initiative it took to make the MOU a success.
He said they will provide assistance for specialist clerical expertise and hospital management to improve health services across the hospital and to enhance staff skills.
He further mentioned that among the huge progress entailed in the MOU is the establishment of the two major and critical wards, the oncology ward for cancer treatment and the kidney ward.
Dr Singh Sidhu assured the ministry of the commitment from India to support QMMH and take full responsibility for the management of the hospital to make it one of the top hospitals that provide patients with good quality health services.
In her remarks, the Director-General Health Services, Dr ‘Nyane Letsie said the aim is to cut the expenses for the patients treated in India, especially for cancer and kidney.
She remarked that Lesotho is going to benefit much from this MOU through capacity building of the staff at QMMH, adding that junior doctors will also benefit through training and skills acquired daily on the job. QMMH has been under the Ministry of Health management following the handing over of services by Tšepong PTY(Ltd) to the ministry on August 02, 2021.
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