No patients sleep on floors

Ministry of Health and Social Services have denied claims that patients are sleeping on mattresses at the Katutura State Hospital.
Namibian Sun visited the hospital earlier this week, where children on the seventh floor could be seen lying on the ground with their mothers.
Despite the Namibian Sun’s observations and claims by patients that there are people without beds, the ministry has said that all patients in the hospital have beds.
The ministry’s spokesperson Esther Pauls said that they have what they call lodgers, who are people that accompany family members and sick children.
She said when the hospital is full, mattresses are given to the lodgers.
“All patients have beds,” she said.
Namibian Sun reported this week that a rat infestation at the hospital has parents and patients living in fear, as the rodents run riot, sparking fears that they may be spreading disease and even death.
It has now reached a point where the parents no longer feel safe to bath at night and fear for their children’s lives, as well as their own.
At the time, Katutura State Hospital Acting Chief Medical Superintendent Dr Mwadina Shiweda said that management is aware of the rat problem at the country’s referral hospital and that they are working it.
Yesterday, Paulus said patients continue to leave food in the drawers and in the open, attracting rats and cockroaches. She urged patients to work with management, and not leave food open in the drawers.
Namibian Sun visited the seventh floor of the hospital, which houses the children’s ward.
Mothers said they have to stay awake at night, because they are afraid that rats might reach their sickly children, and may even feast on their flesh.
A group of women could be seen lying on flimsy mattresses in a room with their children.
“Some of us have been here since January. They just gave us the mattresses and told us to sleep here. It’s getting colder and some of the kids are developing flu, but what can we do?” one mother said.
She said there are also no curtains around the mattresses, and they have to get dressed and change their children in full view of other patients.
One of the mothers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said while it is cold, it is the rat-infested bathrooms they fear the most.
“Our children are already sick and these animals bring diseases, so we have to stay awake to make sure the rats don’t come here and bite us. We are scared, but the kids are sick and we are forced to be here, so there is nothing we can do,” she said.
A gaping hole under the sink in one of the bathrooms has been blamed for the rat infestation.
Another mother said that parents in the ward cannot take a bath at night. “At night they (the rats) run around freely. We are very scared of the rats my dear, but there is nothing we can do,” one patient said.
Another mother said she is worried about her child’s health. “The kids play on the floors, where the rats are just running around, so it’s very unhygienic, but at least I have a bed.
“I fear for the other mothers, who sleep on the floor. They are in bigger danger,” the mother said.
GORDON JOSEPH