Minister Lelatisitswe misled the nation - BONU

Botswana Nurses Union (BONU) has accused the Assistant Minister of Health Sethomo Lelatisitswe of misleading the nation deliberately in Parliament on the issue of dispensing drugs by Nurses.

Lelatisitswe said when responding to a question in Parliament: “Retired Nurses and Foreigners can dispense drugs.”

However, BONU National Publicity Secretary, Kenosi Mogorosi said there is nowhere in the law that says so. He said it is embarrassing that the Assistant Minister either does not appreciate Nurses' duties or is deliberately skidding around the Act that regulates the nursing profession.

Mogorosi stated that it would have been better if at the very least the Assistant Minister had singled out a provision that says he can authorise Nurses to dispense drugs without breaching the prohibition provisions of the law that spells out the duties of Nurses and Midwives.

“Botswana Nurses Union would like to remind the Assistant Minister of a basic simple principle in the rule of law; no one is above the law, not the Minister, not Nurses and definitely not us.

“We are not going to be complacent in assisting and or aiding the Minister to break the law by endorsing his uninformed, hurried, misleading, and most importantly, legally incorrect, response on the floor of Parliament.

“Notwithstanding this, all Nurses and Midwives are reminded that it is unlawful for Nurses and Midwives (Citizens or non-citizens; unionized or non-unionized) to dispense drugs”, Mogorosi said this week.

He indicated that the utterances made by the Assistant Minister are seen as acts of intimidation and must be withdrawn. 'We advise our citizens to guard against political spinning in health issues because they can wreak havoc within the public health,' he added.

Last month the ministry of health said legal process has been set in motion to authorise nurses and midwives to dispense medications without any doubt on the legal standing of their actions. A press statement from the Ministry stated that all duties that nurses and midwives perform at work and having been so authorised are legitimate and in order.

According to the ministry, the motion was set after the ministry noted various correspondences from BONU on the issue of dispensing medications by nurses and midwives in health facilities.

“The ministry appreciates that nurses and midwives are knowledgeable about medications and their uses as that was part of their training and they have as a result been serving their patients satisfactorily for many years, including in relation to medication dispensing,” the statement reads.

It continued that the ministry expects nurses and midwives together with other healthcare workers to always remember their oath to help save lives by performing or not omitting to perform any duty that may help save a life.

BONU has since served government with a notice to sue for forcing nurses to dispense medication.

Asked what would happen if it is established that indeed Minister Lelatisitswe deliberately misled the nation under the cover of Parliament, a legal expert told Botswana Guardian that he may be asked to correct the mistake by way of a statement, or if there is a dispute he refuses to withdraw. The minister can withdraw or correct his statement and finally if he withdraws, the words can be expunged from the Hansard. But all these will only be possible if another Member of Parliament brings the matter to Parliament.