Engela hospital grapples with ‘dire’ medicine shortage

Doctors at Engela District Hospital are pleading with the health ministry for urgent help, warning that a shortage of essential medicines has left patients with serious conditions, including hypertension, without adequate treatment.

The hospital has appealed to the health ministry for urgent intervention.

The hospital’s senior medical officer, Dr Lukas Nghaamwa, told Namibian Sun this week that the facility has been forced to use its own budget to purchase eye drops and limited supplies of medication. However, he warned that these supplies will soon run out.

“The situation is dire, and we often find ourselves at a loss regarding how to treat our patients,” he said. “Immediate intervention is necessary to resolve this issue so we can provide effective care with the appropriate medications, particularly for those with high blood pressure.”

Nghaamwa has appealed to the health ministry to take urgent action and ensure the immediate provision of essential medicines.

The shortage is not new. During a visit to the hospital in June, staff also alerted Ohangwena governor Kadiva Hamutumwa to the lack of medicines.

Beds no longer bare

During that visit, it was also revealed that pregnant women were sleeping on bare beds without mattresses in a temporary shelter.

Hamutumwa immediately directed hospital management to procure mattresses as a matter of urgency, emphasising that she did not want to see any patient without one.

Fortunately, that issue has since been addressed.

Nghaamwa confirmed that expectant mothers no longer have to sleep on bare beds, as they have been supplied with mattresses, including 100 donated by Sanlam.

“In 2024, Sanlam donated 100 mattresses specifically for expectant mothers. Those women who were in the shelter without mattresses were not meant to be there, but due to the lack of space, we provided them with mattresses. Currently, we have no patients or pregnant women sleeping on the floor or on beds without a mattress,” he noted.

He added that the hospital has purchased 200 new mattresses, which are awaiting delivery. These will be allocated to all wards to ensure that no patient sleeps on a bare bed.

While he acknowledged that overcrowding can sometimes lead to brief shortages, he described such instances as uncommon.