21 Nov 2022

Ministry of Health is not aware of any complaints by patients with regard to not getting appropriate medical care as a result of their inability to communicate either in Setswana or English.

Assistant Minister of Health Mr Sethomo Lelatisitwe told Parliament that Botswana had only two official languages, Setswana and English, further noting that health professionals in public health facilities were empowered by the constitution to assist patients in any of the two languages.

He said there was no legal obligation for the ministry to use trained health interpreters as there were other options that could be used in instances where there was communication challenges between a health professional and a patient.

However, if a patient wishes to bring their own interpreter to the health facility, that is also a welcome development, he said.

Mr Lelatisitswe noted that his ministry did not have cross cultural training and that such training could not be used to determine the appropriateness of healthcare services.

He was responding to a question from Ghanzi North MP, Mr John Thiite regarding complaints raised about referral from Ghanzi health facilities to Princess Marina Hospital and other referral facilities due to the patient’s inability to communicate either in English or Setswana, thereby hindering access to health services.

Mr Thiite also wanted to know if there were any legal obligations for the ministry to use properly qualified health interpreters or the need for the ministry to offer professional training to multilingual staff as interpreters in medical facilities. ENDS