The Assistant Minister of Health, Lawrence Ookeditse has revealed that government has no plans to upgrade the Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital into a fully-fledged specialised hospital.
The assistant minister was responding to a question in parliament by the Maun East Member of Parliament, Goretetse Kekgonegile who wanted to know if there are any plans, if so, when, and which specialised areas will be covered.
Further to his response, Ookeditse could only emphasise that health services are provided at the hospital. However, he acknowledged that the hospital is faced with numerous challenges caused by staff shortages, shortages of medicines as well as inadequate facilities.
Kekgonegile had also wanted to know how many doctors and specialists are there at the hospital and how many are supposed to be in place given the patient population. He also asked if there are any plans to establish a 24-hour operating clinic in one of Maun East clinics given the rise in population and growth of Maun.
In response, Ookeditse indicated that there is a country-wide shortage of medical specialists and medical officers in the public sector. This situation he said is a result of high attrition rate in addition to the already low numbers of local specialists.
“The Ministry has been able to ensure that most district hospitals in Botswana have at least one medical specialist from the five basic specialties: Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, General Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and Anaesthesia,” he indicated.
The assistant minister revealed that the Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital offers four of these five basic specialties, being one Internal Medicine Specialist, two Paediatricians, one Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, and one Anaesthetist. He added that the hospital also provides ophthalmology services as an additional basic specialty, with two ophthalmologists.
“In addition to the above-mentioned basic specialty, Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital offers five sub-specialty services: one Cardiologist, one Intensivist, one Dermatologist, one Oncologist, one Paediatric Surgeon. This brings the total number of specialists at the hospital to 17,” said Ookeditse.
For services not currently available at Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital, the assistant minister noted that patients are referred to Nyangabwe Referral Hospital. He has however assured that as more doctors are trained, the ministry will continue to post additional specialists and sub-specialists to the hospital.
Regarding medical officers, he indicated that there are currently 12 medical officers and 8 medical officer interns at the hospital, which he admitted is below the required number. However, Ookeditse has assured that the ministry intends to deploy more doctors as they become available.
Further, the assistant minister acknowledged that the current Maun population necessitates the consideration of another 24-hour facility to alleviate pressure on Maun General Clinic and Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital. However, he indicated that due to recent budgetary constraints, establishing another 24-hour facility in Maun has been difficult as it requires augmentation of the current staff.
