13 Aug 2020

Eight open heart surgeries, out of 312 conducted in Botswana in the past 10 years, were not successful, says Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Setlhomo Lelatisitswe.

Answering a question in Parliament on August 12, he said five patients died within 12 months of post operation, while three lost their lives immediately after the operation.

Mr Lelatisitwe said total cost of the operations from 2009 to 2019, through collaboration with Mauritius cardiac team, ranged from P2.4 million to P4.5 million.

He said, through the outsourcing to South Africa and Bokamoso from 2016, the total cost ranged from P20 million to P24 million.

Mr Lelatisitwe, however, said Botswana had never conducted a heart transplant, adding that the country did not have a provision for an organ bank.

Furthermore, the assistant minister said there were challenges associated with open heart surgery, which included among others, critical shortage of specialised human resources, equipment and medicine.

Mr Lelatisitswe said there was no citizen under-going training in this field and emphasised that it was one of the areas the health care system needed to address especially in the advent of transformation to knowledge-based economy.

He said the ministry was implementing the Botswana organ policy, which was approved in 2014, whose aim was to create an enabling environment for organ replacement services.

He said the policy was at its mid-term review this financial year, adding that as more private hospitals were being licensed in Botswana, organ transplants which were a form of tertiary prevention for services of end organ damage, were expected to be available in Botswana, hence the organ transplant programme might be feasible within the near future as well as prospects of an organ bank.

“Furthermore, the Public Health Act,2013 makes provision for such developments.

Moreover these services were part of the full spectrum of health care that would be provided by Sir Ketumile Teaching Hospital once, fully commissioned,” he said.

Mahalapye West MP, Mr David Tshere had asked the Minister of Health and Wellness to give update on open heart surgery in Botswana and to state, how many patients had had open heart surgery in Botswana for the past 10 years.

Mr Tshere also wanted to know that of the operated patients, how many had successful operations and how many were unsuccessful in the last 10 years, the total cost of these operations on a yearly basis for the past ten years as well as challenges associated with “this special treatment.”

Furthermore, Mr Tshere asked the if the ministry had any plans in relation to establishment of an organ bank, heart replacement facilities or any policy on heart related illnesses. ENDS