11 Dec 2019

Parliament has been informed that Kanye Adventist Hospital is a mission institution wholly owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe said the church administered the hospital through a Board of Trustees that had representation from the ministry as per the agreement signed between the two.

He said Board of Trustees ran the operation institution through the hospital superintendent who in turn worked with the administrative committee which was tasked with the running of the day to day activities.

Mr Lelatisitswe also said the ministry provided recurrent funding to the hospital and that the hospital had a renewable 36 months grant agreement with the ministry.

He said the hospital provided similar services to those in public district hospitals, save for specialised services that are provided at National Referral Hospitals. 

He further stated that customer satisfaction levels had been fluctuating at low levels over the time, adding that in 2015 it was 30 per cent, 45 per cent  in 2017, 35 per cent  in 2018 and while in  2019 it was 48 per cent.

He said main customer complaints were long waiting times to be seen by doctors, shortage of drugs, medical equipment and health personnel.

The assistant minister also stated that Kanye SDA did not have occupational health and safety department, but noted that services were coordinated through committees provided as Risk Assessment and Wellness Committees which include staff counselling and screening, provision of Post Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV infection and availability of a staff clinic.

Mr Lelatisitswe said the hospital like others across the country had a shortage of staff across professional cadres but noted that the ministry provided the hospital with health personnel to complement staff. 

He further stated that the ministry provided recurrent budget and that the Kanye SDA hospital was not provided with development budget, hence that meant the development budget was the responsibility of hospital to ensure that infrastructure was serviceable at all times. 

The minister acknowledged a shortage of office space and workstations at the hospital, adding that it was an old structure and was overwhelmed by the rapidly growing population and needs for health services.

He said inpatient capacity stood at 167 beds, female was 36, paediatric ward 31, obstetrics 28, male ward 26, surgical ward 16, private wards 16, isolation 6, and Tuberculosis 18 and that TB wards were not isolated, but that cubicles were designated for such services.

He said ministry supported the hospital with medical equipment comparable to those in public health facilities, while some were being sourced directly by the hospital and others through donations. 

He said patient to doctor ratio was 1:150 while the patient to nurse ratio was 1:30. 

Mr Lelatisitswe said the ministry was committed to addressing the major bottlenecks and challenges that were facing the hospitals.

He said some key interventions, both short and long term included improving supply chain management of medicines through leveraging on technology and carrying out audits and expediting procurement.

Mr Lelatisitswe said during NDP 11, the ministry had planned to upgrade Kgwatlheng clinic to a primary hospital and that there was a plan to construct a fit-for-purpose public hospital in Kanye as the church was considering to turn SDA hospital into a private entity.

Mr Lelatisitswe was answering questions from Kanye North MP, Mr Thapelo Letsholo, who wanted to know the status of operation of Kanye SDA with regards to governance structure, customer service levels for the past five years, occupational health and safety and staffing of professionals.

He also wanted to know its operation with regards to infrastructure, office space and workplaces, in-patient hospital capacity and medicine and medical equipment.

He wanted the ministry to provide a breakdown of doctor-patient and nurse-patient ratios and the plans that the ministry has in short, medium and long term to remedy identified challenges. 

Mr Letsholo further wanted to know if there were plans to build an additional hospital in Kanye. ends