Elderly patients lie on floor as hospital queues stretch for hours

Health minister Esperance Luvindao says the shortage of healthcare workers is one of the main reasons patients sometimes endure long waiting hours at the Katutura hospital, a situation that has left some elderly patients lying on the floor while waiting for treatment.

Luvindao made the remarks in parliament on Wednesday while responding to concerns raised by member of parliament Lilani Brinkman, who described witnessing the situation at Katutura Hospital.

Brinkman said she visited the hospital at around 09:00 and observed a queue that appeared not to move for hours. “Around 13:00, I called the specific person who was in the line just to make sure, because I could not see any movement in that specific line,” she told parliament.

She said the same people she had found in the queue earlier were still waiting hours later.

"Around 16:00, while we are here in the chambers, the same person was still there,” Brinkman said.

She added: “I want to highlight that this is a normal occurrence at a state hospital; it is not something new".

However, Brinkman expressed concern after seeing two elderly women lying on the floor while waiting for treatment. “I do not know whether they could not sit anymore or whether the wait was too long. They were lying on the floor as they were waiting for treatment,” Brinkman said.

Witness to a failing health system

Responding to these concerns, Luvindao said she had personally visited the hospital and witnessed the situation herself.

“I myself, the same way the honourable member saw with her own eyes, was at Katutura Hospital. I was able to witness with my own eyes what is happening,” she said.

Luvindao said one of the main reasons behind the long waiting times "is the lack of sufficient healthcare workers".

The minister noted that last year the ministry began recruiting over 2 000 healthcare workers.

"The ministry has plus-minus 70% of those positions already filled. The remaining 30% is actively being filled, with completion expected by the end of March," Luvindao noted.

Luvindao also pointed to efforts to ease pressure on facilities by extending clinic operating hours.

She said Maxuilili Clinic now operates 24 hours a day, while Okuryangava Clinic will begin operating 24/7 from 1 April.

She said she agreed with Brinkman that "there is work to be done, and that is exactly why we are taking the necessary steps to get that work done."

Frustration after frustration

A state patient, who spoke anonymously to Namibian Sun, said long waits in the queue are already a problem, but the situation worsens when they finally reach the pharmacy and are told the medication is unavailable.

“Some of us were told that medicines like omeprazole are out of stock. For people who depend on these treatments, being sent away without medication is worrying because many cannot afford to buy it from private pharmacies,”

Another patient said: “Many people rely on the hospital because they cannot afford private pharmacies, so when the medicine is not there, it leaves patients in a very difficult situation.”

When reached for comment on the allegations from patients at Katutura Hospital claiming that certain medications, such as clobazam and omeprazole, are currently unavailable at the hospital, the health ministry’s spokesperson, Walters Kamaya, said, “All items alluded to above are available in sustainable stock."

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