17 Nov 2020

Ministry of Health and Wellness will not close down Lepashe Health Post as it provides critical care to the community, the Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe, has said.

He told Parliament that closing down the health post would compromise access to health care services for the residents, adding that provision of quality health care remained the ministry’s top priority, in line with universal health coverage.

He said he was aware of the space limitations of the health post .He said a hand washing station had been installed in order to meet the minimum requirements for COVID-19 protocols.

Mr Lelatisitswe said there was currently one ambulance that was allocated to cater for the Matsitama and Lepashe cluster due to resource constraints.Nevertheless, the ministry would continue to assess and re-prioritise ambulance allocations should the transport situation improve in the district, he said.

He also noted that the health post had two nurses and one of the nurses was currently on study leave effective August 2020, leaving one in the station.

“Plans are underway to transfer an additional nurse effective January 2021,” he explained.  

Regarding the nurse’s welfare issues, the assistant minister said the ministry recognised that fatigue often set in when officers were serving alone, without resting days.
“The nurse in question has been granted leave effective November 16 to December 4, and a nurse from Dukwi Clinic will provide relief at the health post,” he said.

Additionally, Mr Lelatisitswe stated that the ministry adhered to its transfer policy of moving clinical staff every 2 years especially those in remote areas like Lepashe, to ensure that they were not disadvantaged by limited resources.

Concerning the state of the infrastructure of the health post, Mr Lelatisitswe said a request for quotation(RFQ) had been issued to companies for maintenance of both Lepashe and Matsitama Health Posts, and the closing date was the November 13.

He mentioned that the RFQ covered maintenance of the storeroom and toilets which were destroyed by winds while waiting for major maintenance of the facility to be undertaken.

Nata-Gweta MP, Mr Polson Majaga had wanted to know if the ministry would consider closing Lepashe Health Post as it posed as a health risk to villagers and clinic staff .

He also wanted to know if the minister was aware that currently there was no ambulance to transport patients and that only one nurse was currently on duty at Lepashe Health Post. ENDS