Govt plans own dialysis centres
By Kaipaherue Kandjii
The government plans to recoup approximately N$ 100 million yearly by introducing dialysis centres instead of referring patients to private healthcare centres. In the past, public patients, according to the Minister of health and Social Services Kalumbi Shangula, were costing the state purse vast amounts of money for such treatment, which will now be a thing of the past with the new systems. The new centres will be established at six hospitals nationwide.
“The government has approved the introduction of additional healthcare services in state-owned health facilities. These include establishing intensive care units (ICUs) in all district hospitals nationwide. “The establishment of dialysis units in several hospitals across the country, the expansion of dental services, the expansion of dental services and the improvement of oncology services,” Shangula informed Confidente on Monday. The state only boasts 25 ICU units.
For this reason, they have now decided to roll out new ICU units in all 34 district hospitals. “For a long time, Namibians had to travel long distances from different parts of the country to access dialysis services, mainly in Windhoek, and the government had to spend millions of dollars to refer state patients to private dialysis centres.
“The government was spending up to N$100 million per year for these activities. Therefore, dialysis services will be established at Katutura Intermediate Hospital, Keetmanshoop, Rundu, Oshakati, Otjiwarongo and Walvis Bay. “The facilities at Katutura and Oshakati hospitals have been completed and will be commissioned for service in the coming weeks,” he added.
Shangula emphasised that the revival of the ailing healthcare system also includes procuring high-end medical equipment for various healthcare facilities. “[The] high-end medical equipment has also been procured and installed at different health facilities. During the 2023/24 financial year, public health facilities procured and installed 13 operating tables, 20 electrocardiographs, 97 infant incubators, 20 dental chairs, 20 dental x-rays, and 18 dental autoclaves.
“We have also installed ceiling-suspended x-ray units and digital fluoroscopy units at referral hospitals,” Shangula stressed. In June last year, the health ministry also acquired what is known as the Picture Archive and Communications System and Radiology Information System for N$ 19,3 million at its five referral hospitals to digitalise the storage and transfer of patient imaging records. Meanwhile, oxygen-generating systems are also to be established at healthcare facilities, including the Onandjokwe, Mariental, Swakopmund, Okakarara, St. Mary Rehoboth, Keetmanshoop, Okahao, Eenhana, Okongo, and Andara hospitals.
“I wish to state again that more than 85 per cent of the Namibian population depend on public health and social services provided through hospitals and other facilities managed by the health ministry. These include 322 clinics, 56 health centres, 34 district hospitals, intermediate hospitals and one national referral hospital. “There are more than 1 150 outreach points in the country. The government will also build health posts in different constituencies nationwide in line with the costed plan to mobilise additional resources for the public healthcare sector.
“The services offered at public health facilities include health promotion, preventative and curative interventions, immunisation, as well as tertiary and specialised services offered at our tertiary healthcare hospitals,” he said. The public healthcare system has since yesteryear grabbed media headlines for all the wrong reasons for failing to meet the basic needs of its patients, with hospitals running out of medicine, a disparity of doctors to patients, patients sleeping on floors due to a shortage of beds, and an infestation of mice and cats, amongst others.
Shangula conceded that these issues have been predominant for the past three years. ‘For the past three years, Namibia has faced challenges regarding the supply of medicines and clinical supplies for public health facilities. The reasons for these challenges are varied and multifactorial. These include legal challenges to procurement processes for medicines, lengthy procedures legislated under the Public Procurement Act of 2015, low shortage of active pharmaceuticals ingredients for some products, adverse markets of scale and disruptions to international logistics channels,” he opined. He added that the health ministry had been exempted beyond its existing threshold to acquire its medical needs by the finance ministry.
Shangula says they will be procuring their medicine directly from the suppliers. “The health ministry has implemented and is implementing various projects to expand and improve access to public and social services. “These include constructing new health facilities, maintaining existing ones, and procuring medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and clinical supplies, ambulances and their accessories.
“I wish to frontload several priorities, programs, and interventions being implemented by the government in the public health sector,” he indicated. Surprisingly, the much-criticised Katutura Hospital is also getting a facelift. In November last year, late president Hage Geingob inaugurated a newly renovated Emergency Centre at the hospital. “[There are] several wards on different floors in the hospital undergoing renovation, which will improve the hospital’s appearance, hygiene, and service delivery.
“The renovation work has necessitated [the] temporary relocation of some patients to other areas of the hospital, including the field hospital used during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a temporary arrangement,” Shangula revealed. Furthermore, Shangula says a robust surveillance system has been implemented to detect any outbreak of new viruses and diseases in Namibia. “For this reason, I call upon all Namibians to cooperate with the public health authorities as we combat diseases that may occur in our communities. “As the health ministry as a government, we will spare no effort and will not relent to serve our people and provide them with the best healthcare achievable. That is my understanding of the people of Namibia. Our efforts have been recognised in Namibia and the global healthcare fraternity. We have received international awards primarily in the field of HIV and Hepatitis B prevention and control,” he claimed. According to him, the Namibian delegation to the negotiations for the international instruments to manage health emergencies has attracted the admiration of other health professionals.