Otjiwarongo: Medical staff at the Otjiwarongo State Hospital on Monday expressed frustration over broken medical equipment at the hospital.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Senior Medical Officer, Dr. Jonas Mundjuru, highlighted during a fact-finding discussion with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender Equality and Social Services that the hospital's operating theatre is currently non-functional and the majority of medical instruments are broken.
'Nearly all medical instruments are broken, including the only X-ray machine which has been out of order for the past two weeks,' said Dr. Mundjuru, who is also the district head of the Otjiwarongo State Hospital. He further reported that the hospital pharmacy has not been restocked since October 2023, leaving it without basic medication. Additionally, staffing shortages have resulted in a small team of doctors and nurses being overworked. 'To make it worse, when these overworked nurses submit overtime claims, there is no money to pay them for their extended working hours,' Dr. Mundjuru added.
The hospital is also experiencing overcrowding, forcing management to accommodate psychiatric patients in the same wards as tuberculosis patients. Otjiwarongo State Hospital Matron Welhelmina Simon raised further concerns regarding security and infrastructure. She noted that a shortage of security guards and a broken perimeter fence have led to the persistent theft of hospital mattresses and linen. 'The fence is broken and mattresses and linen are stolen by thieves and patients,' she said.
Acting Otjozondjupa Regional Health Director, Dr. Shiwana Amesho, confirmed the staff's accounts, stating that the hospital is no longer large enough to meet regional medical needs and advocated for the construction of a new referral hospital. Dr. Amesho noted that while a site for a referral hospital was identified and fenced off near the Orwetoveni cemetery in 2014, no construction has taken place since. Governor John //Khamuseb and Otjozondjupa Regional Council Chairperson Paulus Nekundi, who accompanied the parliamentary delegation, expressed shock at the conditions reported by the medical team.