23 Nov 2021

Ditsweletse isolation clinic staff in Jwaneng was on Friday hailed for dedication and resilience to serve the community.

The clinic, which was used as an isolation centre for Kanye, Moshupa, Jwaneng and surroundings experienced a high number of COVID-19 related deaths during the peak of the pandemic around July.

July was the deadliest month with 25 deaths, which lowered to 16 the following month while in September one patient died.

“I remember that when we admitted the first patient, there was fear was all over.  Ditsweletse clinic was initially a maternity clinic and we didn’t have many death experiences here. So when COVID 19 got worse and many patients died, it was trauma even for the trained nurses.

The situation was made worse by the fact that the centre became filled up with corpses that had to stay for some time while relatives prepared to collect them,” said principal nursing officer, Ms Goitsemang Mothibi during a staff wellness day.

She, however, hailed the staff for perseverance and commitment.

“We had to let our pledge as nurses kick in and soldier on,” Ms Mothibi added.

Jwaneng mayor, Ms Olga Ditsie, also hailed the staff for its gallant fight.

She said events such as the wellness day prepared staff for any worse situation that may arise, especially that COVD 19 was still existant.

“Such events are important to prepare your mind and souls for anything that may come. You should always be alert and we thank you for carrying us thus far,” she said.

Ms Ditsie said the town owed its perseverance to the staff at the isolation centre.

She also urged other organisations to organise similar events, especially that mental strength was vital in this era.

As an appreciation for their commitment and hard work, Ms Ditsie pledged a cow and two goats for members of staff as a Christmas present.

Principal health education technician, Ms Bontle Phafane, said the purpose of the day was to promote the wellness of the workforce through therapeutic recreation as well as health screenings, treatment and care.

“Contrary to perception, health workers also need health education just like the rest of the community,” she said.

Ms Phafane also said wellness activities were important in team building and distressing.

She said such activities had been halted by the COVID 19 pandemic.

Statistics indicated that the two isolation centres in Jwaneng, being Ditsweletse clinic and Majwe camp had a total of 241 patients in January this year.

The number dropped to 212 in February and kept going down, but shot sharply to 156 in July after the long holidays.  

Currently, only one patient is in isolation. ENDS