18 Dec 2023

A more spacious private clinic has been opened in Tsabong to cater for the increasing number of patients seeking advanced medical care and quick service.

The Maisha Medical Centre has moved from TM Mall as the allocated space was limited and could no longer sufficiently serve the needs of patients.

The managing director of the centre, Dr Gaston Nduenga, said they seek to provide better health care by bringing services that were unavailable in the district, as many travelled long distances in search of better medical service.

He noted that the district lacked critical health services such as physiotherapists, dentists, medical laboratories, ultrasound scanners and opticians.

Dr Nduenga has been practicing medicine in Tsabong since 2012 working under Dr Vincent Setlhare who started the clinic.

He said in 2020 Dr Setlhare sold his shares at the clinic and moved to Gaborone to lecture at the university and pursue other interests in the medical field.

The 42-year-old Democratic Republic of Congo born doctor said he had witnessed Tsabong mushroom and the need for private medical practitioners and services.

Dr Nduenga said attracting specialists and other health workers to Tsabong was a challenge as there were no developed private facilities.

He said there was now a ultrasound scanner at Tsabong Primary Hospital, and that they were the first to install a 4D advanced ultrasound scanning machine capable of imaging internal organs such as pregnancy, breasts, neurology as well as cardiology.

He also said they built the new clinic in line with the Ministry of Health requirements and that it would accommodate a physiotherapist, optician, dentist as well as a fully equipped laboratory.

He said their vision was to attract and retain medical specialists so that they could have bigger facilities in future, adding that they would do it stage by stage.

Dr Nduenga further said he had received offers from health facilities in Ramotswa, Francistown and greater Gaborone, but that he turned them all down to serve Tsabong residents.

Kgosi David Toto II of Tsabong has appreciated the new medical facility, saying it reflected a thriving private health care sector. He said for a long time Tsabong did not have private health facilities.

Kgosi Toto II also acknowledged that government was improving medical facilities and service in the district, noting that plans were underway to construct a 70 bed hospital in Tsabong. He said the facility would help residents as Tsabong Primary Hospital was a referral centre for district residents.

For her part, Tsabong District Health Management Team (DHMT) coordinator, Ms Gaboelwe Rammekwa said the opening of the private facility would improve access to healthcare in the area.

“The private clinic is a convenience for those who do not want to cue at government clinics and those who can afford to pay for medical aid,” she said. ENDS