14 Feb 2022

Scottish Livingstone Hospital (SLH) in Molepolole under Kweneng District Health Management Team (DHMT) is the first to benefit from the extension of the chronic medicine dispensing programme, says the deputy permanent secretary in the ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Tshepo Machacha.

Speaking during the official launch of the programme at SLH recently, Dr Machacha said the programme, meant to improve quality of services offered to the public, began at Princess Marina Hospital as a pilot project in 2014 through a cabinet directive.

He however said it was an initiative by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to improve the quality of services offered to the public.

The ministry, he said ,had since engaged the Associated Fund Administrators (AFA) through BPOMAS to run the programme on its behalf,

The initiative he said was in response to the public outcry over the quality of service due to long queues and congestion in public health facilities.

“Our wish is to help improve the supply of chronic medicine through private partnership by using private owned pharmacies,” said Dr Machacha.

He said the programme would require registration by eligible people with local health facilities in their localities for proper arrangements to be made with administrators.

Dr Machacha said the chronic medicine dispensing programme would further be extended to six more public hospitals to reach out to more eligible individuals sometime in March.

These places included Lobatse, Mahalapye, Palapye, Serowe, Selebi-Phikwe and Maun, he said.

Dr Machacha further urged the public to take vaccine booster shots to reduce the burden previously experienced due to rapid spread of COVID-19.

“Let us act responsibly and take into consideration the fact that our health is our responsibility and take advantage of the availability of vaccines in all our facilities,”he pleaded.

Meanwhile ministry of health Chief Pharmacist, Dr Vivian Sebako, highlighted that the primary objectives of the programme was to enhance access to chronic medicines, decongest public health facilities and allow beneficiaries of the programme to use private facilities of their choices at their own time.

She said due to high shortage of pharmacists in public health facilities, the public continued to suffer as far as provision of medical supply was concerned.

Ms Tsheketetso Nkokwe, a programme beneficiary expressed hope over the ministry’s plan to improve service delivery in the supply of medicines to avoid the current state of affair where they were forced to go to hospitals very early in the morning and returned home late at night.

“The arrangement brings us hope and we encourage those in charge to ensure proper undertaking,” said Ms Nkokwe.

Kweneng district council chairperson, Mr Motlhophi Leo, expressed optimism over the programme, which he said would help to reduce complaints over poor service in public health facilities.

One of the issues raised by the council chairperson was for responsible authorities to guard against corruption and ensure there was equity in the awarding of jobs under chronic medicine dispensing programme.

“Lets us be cautious on how we run the programme to be able to yield its intended goal so that it does not collapse at its inception stage”, advised the council chairman. ENDs