20 Jun 2018

Bamalete Lutheran Hospital (BLH) is currently facing an acute shortage of staff.

The hospital is currently struggling to fill essential posts such as those of midwives, medical officers, public relation officers, hospital superintendent, ear nose and throat specialist (ENT) and pediatricians.

A South East District development report states that this has led to some patients being referred to Princess Marina Referral Hospital.

The report indicates that the hospital is continuously lobbying the Ministry of Health and Wellness and other donors to provide assistance with regard to the staffing situation.

The report highlights that currently, the hospital has a total of 438 employees, which comprises of 338 mission employees and 100 government employees.

The report further states that some equipment has reached the end of its useful time, therefore unreliable, hence the need for replacement.

Among those highlighted to be in need of replacement include vital sign monitors, anesthetic machines, laundry machines, autoclaves and dental chairs.

The report states that the hospital has three ambulances, with some dating as far back as 1995 and 2000.

Furthermore, the district development report states that the average drug availability for the hospital stood at 71 per cent during the fourth quarter, which is below the national target.

This is attributed to factors such as low supply of drugs from Central Medical Stores (CMS), high influx of patients from within and outside the district and lack of a separate micro-procurement budget for procuring drugs from private suppliers.

The hospital however continues to order drugs from CMS and district warehouse, rationalise utilisation of resources and improve communication with stakeholders in order to assuage the situation.

The report states that the availability of minor medical equipment for the reporting period stood at 75 per cent.

The operating theatre has not been operating since December 2017 due to malfunctioning of the air conditioners that have been declared obsolete by the Ministry of Health and Wellness despite that BLH is a District Referral Hospital covering Ramotswa and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, drug availability for the whole South East District stood at 78.4 per cent, while BLH and Tlokweng Sub-district were lagging behind at 71 per cent and 72 per cent respectively in the fourth quarter. Ends