15 Jun 2014

Women have been urged to fully utilise Boipelego clinic's maternity wing.

Presenting process improvement project to Serowe Administration Authority on Tuesday, June 10, principal midwife , Ms Priscilla Bayisaid they aimed to increase the use of Boipelego wing from 1.8 per cent to 20 per cent by 31 March 2015.

She therefore appealed to councillors, as stakeholders, to be partners in distributing the message to the general clients about maternity wing services.

She said maternity wing at Boipelego Clinic, with 10 beds operating at 24 hours was under-used. She explained to authorities that the congestion and bed overflow at Sekgoma Memorial Hospital’s maternity ward could be eased by the use of this maternity wing.

She stated that for year 2013/14, three were only 79 admissions, 54 of which were transferred to Sekgoma and only 23 delivered at Boipelego.

However, she noted that Boipelego delivered low risk mothers, that is, those who were giving birth for the second to the fourth time. Low-risk mothers also mean those who were without problems such as anaemia, high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, premature deliveries, babies born after nine months pregnancy and previous caesarean section. She explained that mothers who fell outside the low-risk category should go to Sekgoma Memorial Hospital.

One of the activities under this project, she said, was to attach midwives ‘on rotational basis’ from Boipelego Clinic to Sekgoma Maternity Ward to sharpen their multi-tasking skills as there are many deliveries at Sekgoma.

Cllr Mpho Kooreme of Botalaote, asked if they had conducted any research to establish why mothers did not want to go to Boipelego Clinic for delivery. He suspected a sub-standard service at the clinic, and he asked how many maternal deaths occurred there.

Cllr Bahiti Ratora of Mogatsapoo said many people preferred Sekgoma Memorial Hospital because there was always a doctor. Besides, the toilet at Boipelego was not working.

In response, Ms Bayi said they did not conduct a research to establish the reason why women did not want to be delivered at the clinic but said when attending pregnant women they always complained about the clinic’s geographical location, without adequate transport to get there.

She said they have not experience any maternal death and said their toilet are operational.

The Principal Midwife for Sekgoma Memorial Hospital, Ms Vernah Jele, said referrals from clinics were done by midwife without calling the doctors in most cases. 

Ms Jele cautioned that traditional birth attendants were discouraged to reduce maternal death because they are unable to identify the risks. ENDS