Paheja Siririka
Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula has cautioned and advised health professionals to treat members of the public with the necessary courtesy and professionalism, and to offer good quality services.
He said this at the inauguration of brand-new health facilities at the Okahao State Hospital, namely a newly- constructed outpatient department, incorporating the casualty section on the one hand, as well as a new highly-infectious disease facility (isolation).
Shangula stated: “All health workers must at all times treat members of the public with the necessary courtesy and professionalism wherever they visit clinics, health centres and hospitals for treatment. It goes without saying that to deliver high-quality healthcare services, we need to have reliable infrastructure, equipment, medicines and enough health personnel”.
“The health ministry aims to provide integrated, affordable and accessible quality healthcare services and social services which are responsive to the needs of the population through the construction of modern health facilities, training and recruitment of qualified healthcare professionals and the provision of equipment and healthcare supplies and clinical items,” he added.
The addition of this facility totals 36 hospitals countrywide, including intermediate and referral entities. The country further has 46 healthcare centres, 274 clinics and 1 150 outreach points.
Shangula said any member of the public who feels he or she is not treated well at any health facility has the right to seek recourse from the head of such a facility.
“It is for this reason that we insist that all healthcare workers must, while on duty, wear and display their name tags. This is done in the name of identification of the individual health worker and in the name of improved service delivery and transparency,” he noted.
Services offered at the hospital include primary and secondary healthcare, outpatient and inpatient healthcare services as well as a 24-hour service throughout the year. Other services include general medical care, which covers internal medicine, paediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, dentistry, medical social services, ophthalmology services, radiological services, pharmaceutical services, medical emergency services and preventive and promotional healthcare.
Shangula said the outpatient and casualty department was constructed for N$27 219 708.51, while the highly-infectious disease facility was built for N$6 094 445.70.
“These facilities are provided with the necessary modern equipment and supplies to make them operational. We will continue to upgrade the facility in the coming years. These include completing the upgrading of the administration block, upgrading electricity reticulation and the installation of an oxygen-generating plant during this financial year. These improvements will further strengthen the provision of services at this facility,” he continued.
- psiririka@nepc.com.na