Kavindama hospital ready for full operation by March end
Consistent power outages and shortage of human resources especially specialised cadres are some of the reasons delaying the full operation of the state-of-the-art, multimillion pula Joseph Kavindama Memorial Hospital in Shakawe.
The disruptions have grossly affected key units such as laundry machines, mortuary, laboratory equipment amongst others.
It is hoped that the situation will be corrected by the end of March through a joint operation between Health and Transport and Public Works ministries.
Minister of Health Dr. Edwin Dikoloti told Parliament during question and answer session that the Joseph Kavindama Memorial Hospital in Shakawe started its Phase 1 operations in March 2021 as an isolation centre during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second phase started on October 24, 2022 providing services including; general out-patient, pharmaceutical services, dental, laboratory and maternity services.
The plan is to fully operationalise the hospital by June 2023 once all notable bottlenecks have been addressed.
Dr. Dikoloti said the current bottlenecks that are impeding the attainment of full operational status of the hospital include; acute shortage of accommodation in both the hospital and the village.
However, in an effort to address the housing shortage, the health ministry sourced additional funds for acquisition of extra houses to augment the available ones.
As such, 36 staff houses are being constructed, where 24 are expected to be completed by July 2023, with the remaining 12 still at tender stage.
'In the meantime, we have purchased 22 pre-fabricated houses which were used in the Mohembo Bridge Project, payment for same is being processed,' he said. Dikoloti said with respect to the hospital infrastructure, they
experienced some setbacks due to power outage which affected units including, laundry machines, mortuary, laboratory equipment amongst others.
'To address this, the ministry is working with that of Transport and Public Works, and we are anticipating completion by the end of March 2023.'
He said the other constraint being experienced is with respect to shortage of human resources, especially specialised cadres, as a result the ministry went for external recruitment and the candidates are currently applying for
registration with the Botswana Health Professions Council (BHPC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Botswana (NMCB).
On a positive note, Dikoloti said staffing at the hospital stands at 92 percent including temporary and transfers in.