18 Feb 2015

The scarcity of doctors both in the country and in the global market has contributed to the shortage of health professionals mainly doctors throughout the country, including Francistown. 

Assistant Minister of Health, Dr Alfred Madigele told Parliament that he was hopeful that this problem will in time be addressed by initiatives such as the new medical school at the University of Botswana, the continuous privatisation of health professions in government sponsored training, increased uptake in the Institute of Health Sciences, engaging private providers to provide specialist medical services as well as continuous recruitment of medical specialists.

He also said the number of nurses in Francistown District Health Management Team (DHMT) is adequate.

Dr Madigele said Francistown DHMT currently has 18 doctors as opposed to the required number of 32. He said the ministry was aware that there are periods when some medical supplies are out of stock in government facilities. 

However, he said such periods are occasional and never compromise the care of patients. He said the ministry was prioritising the strengthening of supply chain management system to address the shortages of medical commodities in the country. 

He was responding to question asked by Francistown South MP, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi who wanted to know whether the minister was aware that medical facilities in Francistown are struggling on account of shortage of doctors, nurses and medical supplies.  

He also asked the minister to state the total number of doctors required for the Francistown DHMT and the actual number at the moment. ENDS