Africa-Press – Namibia. About 12 doctors from the private sector have volunteered to provide their services pro bono at Katutura Health Centre in Windhoek.
This comes after the Ministry of Health and Social Services made a call-out to the public sector’s doctors to volunteer after hours at Katutura Health Centre to ease growing patient pressures.
In a notice issued on social media earlier this month, the ministry revealed that for the past few months, the centre has recorded an increasing number of patients seeking services at night.
The doctors, who will begin their shifts on 1 July, were officially welcomed by health minister Esperance Luvindao during an onboarding session held in Windhoek yesterday.
One of the doctors who has volunteered to work pro bono for the ministry, Dr Penehafo Kamati, says offering free medical services is nothing new to her.
“This is part of my social corporate responsibility mixed with passion, and I am inviting other doctors to join us as well,” she says.
Kamati is the founder of the Pelia Caring Foundation and is a doctor at Pelia Medical Practice at Rhino Park Private Hospital in Windhoek.
Doctor Cornelia Ndifon, who is also among the 12 doctors, says her decision will not affect her private practice because the volunteering happens after hours.
“When I got wind of this information, that the Ministry of Health and Social Services, was looking for private doctors to assist pro bono, I was really excited because it is something that I’m used to.
I believe in volunteering and I really got excited about this opportunity because it would not affect my private practice,” she says.
According to Luvindao, the initiative forms part of the ministry’s strategy to decongest Katutura Health Centre, which continues to be overwhelmed with patients.
“This is not only commendable, but profoundly patriotic. Your willingness to offer your skills and time without expectation of financial gain exemplifies the spirit of ubuntu, the belief in a shared humanity,” she says.
The doctors will support the centre’s overburdened night shift team, working between 17h00 and 23h00, when the facility experiences its peak demand.
Luvindao adds that the centre provides 24-hour services and sees up to 1 000 patients per day, or around 20 000 per month.
She says the collaboration with private sector doctors is one of several measures the ministry is implementing in the Khomas region under its first phase of interventions aimed at easing pressure on health infrastructure and reducing patient waiting times.
Luvindao says other efforts include extending operating hours at Okuryangava Health Centre and Otjomuise Clinic to be open from 07h00 to 19h00 daily, including weekends.
Okuryangava is also scheduled to begin offering 24-hour services from 1 August.
Luvindao adds that phase two of the initiative, which is set to roll out in October, will see Maxuilili Clinic in the Tobias Hainyeko constituency upgraded to a 24-hour service facility.
The clinic, which serves over 46 000 residents, is expected to further alleviate the burden on Katutura Health Centre.
While acknowledging that the Khomas region is not the only region affected by high patient volumes, Luvindao says the ministry intends to replicate similar relief strategies across the country.
“We are working to improve the enabling environment for both public and private sector collaboration,” she says.
She further assures the volunteer doctors that their input would be vital in shaping the programme going forward.
“You are making history, not only by giving your expertise, but by standing in solidarity with the people of Namibia in their time of need,” she says.
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