06 Dec 2020

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has decided to capacitate Department of Health Management Team (DHMT) coordinators and primary health care superintendents to take decisions at any given time in the interest of efficient service delivery.

The minister, Dr Edwin Dikoloti revealed this during his visit to Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in Francistown on Saturday.  

He said both DHMTs and primary health care would also be strengthened through the provision of resources to be able to assist communities timeously.

Dr Dikoloti said the ministry was working towards digitizing health services and that plans were being mooted to engage COVID-19 marshals at household level to help fight the pandemic.

He urged all to play their part in tackling health-related issues which he said were synonymous with how communities interacted with the environment they lived in.  

For his part, acting hospital superintendent Dr Kobamelo Motshidisi said between July and September, the hospital registered 270 deaths caused by chronic and cardiovascular diseases while in July, two maternal deaths were recorded.

He said the hospital continued to encounter challenges among them shortage of space and staff as many nurses had been transferred without being replaced.

The few available technicians could not service the entire hospital, he said adding that the one standby generator could not power the whole facility.

Greater Francistown DHMT coordinator, Dr Botshelo Kgwaadira said a new COVID-19 isolation centre had been opened at Matsiloje and currently had 29 patients. 

Other centres had been established at Foley and Jamataka, he said.

He said the good relationship existing between DHMT and the community enabled them to work together to curb the spread of OVID-19.

Dr Kgwaadira noted that plans for Donga clinic to operate on a 24-hour basis, in particular, the maternity ward, had been thwarted by shortage of midwives.

Meanwhile, the Mathangwane Clinic was on track for operating as a 24-hour facility, he said. ends