Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Ministry of Health and Social Services has attributed long queues at the Katima Mulilo State Hospital’s outpatient department to a staff shortage.
This comes after more than 70 patients from various clinics around the region could recently not be attended to as the hospital had no available doctor.
The patients, mostly elderly residents who have been waiting hopelessly the whole day, last week said their conditions grew worse while they were waiting. Other patients were frustrated about travelling far to no avail.
“I came on Saturday because I developed complications after giving birth recently. The nurses then told me they could not assist me, and told me to come today.
“However, despite being one of the first people to arrive, I have not been attended to. I am not feeling well, and I have a newborn at home,” Anastacia Murongo said last week. Pensioner Sarah Simasiku (65) said she was referred to a doctor a week ago, but could not visit the hospital since she had no transport money. By last week she had still not been seen by a doctor.
“I am in pain and have to go back to the village without medication. I am tired and hungry as I have been waiting since morning,” Simasiku said.
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he would have to take his 79-year-old father to a private hospital since the state has failed to peovide him with the medical care he needs.
“This is not the first time we bring my father and he goes back without seeing a doctor. He has been in a critical state since Saturday. “We will now look for money to take him to a private doctor, because he does not have medical aid. We are tired of the incompetence of the Katima Mulilo State Hospital,” he said.
Ministry spokesperson Walter Kamaya, however, says the hospital never sends patients away without them seeing a doctor. The outpatient, department (OPD) doctor is responsible for acting as a translator between patients and surgeons, he says. Kamaya says doctors also attend to isolation patients and post-mortems.
“Unfortunately, when doctors are busy with those things there is no one left to cover the OPD. It would be great if we had more doctors. That way each department would have a doctor, and OPD patients would not have to wait the whole day,” he says.
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