State hospitals run out of anaesthetics Some of the country’s state hospitals have been forced to cancel operations and only permit emergency surgery due to a lack of anaesthetics. So far, the shortage has affected Windhoek Central Hospital, Katutura Intermediate Hospital, Keetmanshoop Hospital, and Rundu State Hospital. Deputy executive director of health and social services Theo-Ben Kandetu says the issue requires consultation. “It is a big case that needs consultation with the regional directors of the regions involved,” he said earlier this week. The ministry could not provide more comment on the matter before going to print. Prime minister Elijah Ngurare said he would need to consult with the Ministry of Health and Social Services before providing comment on the matter. COUNTRYWIDE ISSUE The most affected facility is Rundu State Hospital, which is currently forced to perform emergency surgery only. Sources at the hospital yesterday told The Namibian that most patients who were expecting to be operated on this week were asked to wait until the hospital is fully stocked. The shortage has also affected Windhoek Central Hospital, where sources told The Namibian the current waiting list for operations has reached 500, while the department that deals with eye operations is fully booked until next February. According to another source at Rundu State Hospital, the shortage of medicine is a countrywide issue. The source said the procurement process is delaying matters and is affecting patients and the flow of work on the ground. A surgical patient who has been admitted to the hospital for two years said the hospital is struggling with medicine and bandages suitable for wounds. “Patients are being sent back, some are being requested to go buy medicine or bandages. They are using solar tape when dressing,” he said. A resident of Kehemu said she was operated on two days ago with no complications. “I was told there was no medicine at first, but I was assisted because my situation got bad,” she said. NO ELECTIVE SURGERY At Keetmanshoop in the //Kharas region, state hospitals have reportedly stopped all elective surgery. A source at the hospital this week said a decision was taken in April to use the available anaesthesia for emergency operations only as a precautionary measure. “The hospital has sufficient anaesthesia. A decision was just taken to stop elective surgery,” the source said. Another source told The Namibian doctors are making decisions on a case-by-case basis. Acting director of health Leandra Bushby says she is not aware of any shortage of anaesthesia or that operations are being postponed. “I am not aware of anything like that. Only the specialists will know,” she says. DEADLY CONSEQUENCES A medical expert at Windhoek Central Hospital, who spoke to The Namibian on condition of anonymity, warned that the current shortage of anaesthesia at public hospitals could have deadly consequences. “They will die. If there is no operation, especially in emergency cases like car accidents, bleeding, or brain haemorrhage, patients will not survive,” he said. The expert said the crisis also places expectant mothers with conditions like eclampsia at high risk. “It’s not a joke. Anaesthetists are very important. If there is no anaesthesia, surgeries cannot take place. It’s as simple and as dangerous as that.” According to the source, the issue has worsened over the years, partly due to growing frustration among healthcare professionals over chronic shortages of medicine and equipment in the public sector. “Most of the anaesthetists trained by the government have moved to private practices. The infrastructure in the regions is also lacking, so everyone flocks to Windhoek, which further strains the system.” LUNCH BAN Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday announced that public health centres and clinics will no longer be permitted to take lunch breaks during official working hours. In a directive issued on Monday, health minister Esperance Luvindao said the decision takes immediate effect and forms part of the ministry’s commitment to providing uninterrupted, world-class healthcare services. “In line with the ministry’s commitment to providing uninterrupted, world-class healthcare services to all Namibians, it is hereby directed that no public health centre, clinic, or healthcare facility under the Ministry of Health and Social Services shall close or suspend services during official working hours for lunch breaks,” she said in the letter. Luvindao said staff members will be allowed to take their lunch breaks in shifts to avoid uninterrupted services. “There will be a rotational lunch break schedule that allows staff members to take their lunch breaks in shifts. This ensures that services continue without interruption throughout the day,” she said. The minister said the necessary staff must be present and available at all times to attend to patients and continue service delivery without delay or closure during lunch hours. The public relies on the availability of healthcare services throughout the day, and “it is imperative that we uphold our mandate to serve with efficiency, compassion, and professionalism at all times”, she said. The post State hospitals run out of anaesthetics appeared first on The Namibian.

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Senior Officials to Use State Hospitals From 2026 - Ngurare Backs Presidential Directive [Namibian] Prime minister Elijah Ngurare says the government will be implementing a presidential directive that will urge all senior government officials to use state healthcare facilities.

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Senior officials to use state hospitals from 2026 – Ngurare backs presidential directive Prime minister Elijah Ngurare says the government will be implementing a presidential directive that will urge all senior government officials to use state healthcare facilities. The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) yesterday reported that president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has issued a directive to all senior state employees under the Public Service Medical Aid Scheme (Psemas) to use public healthcare facilities from April 2026. Although the details of the plan are sketchy, Ngurare yesterday said the government is planning to upgrade public healthcare facilities to a standard at which the president could confidently use it. He said civil servants currently invest billions of dollars in the private healthcare sector. The government has one year to assess the feasibility of the transition from private to public healthcare, which is expected to cost N$16 million, the prime minister said. Ngurare said the transition will create 31 000 jobs in the public healthcare sector. “Her excellency rightly assessed the health system in the country and what the government spends on it. “The question is whether what we’ve been investing has truly resulted in improvement.” THE COST Executive director of health and social services Ben Nangombe says the government has spent N$3 billion on over 200 000 civil servants in the private sector through the state-funded Psemas. “We know Psemas is allocated an amount of more than N$3 billion, and you have the budget for the minister of health, which was N$12 million,” he says. Nangombe says the government is making significant strides in improving public healthcare and reducing dependency on private sector referrals at all 34 district hospitals countrywide. “The state spends over N$100 million annually referring patients to private facilities for dialysis. “In response, several public hospitals have been equipped with dialysis machines to provide in-house treatment,” he says. Nangombe says key developments are the expansion of intensive care units (ICUs), dialysis centres, and the enhancement of neonatal care at all hospitals. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Namibia had only 20 ICU beds available in the public healthcare sector, but now has 200 beds. “We have taken a policy decision, which is already being implemented, to ensure every district hospital is equipped with ICU facilities,” Nangombe says. The additions aim to provide affordable treatment to patients across the country and reduce the cost of long-distance travel for private healthcare. Nangombe says the expansion of available services will include open heart and brain surgery, and will also lead to the creation of over 31 000 jobs in the healthcare industry. “Approval was recently granted for the ministry to create an additional 11 134 positions on top of the existing 20 000 healthcare workers,” he says. Additionally, 1 400 new positions have been created to support mission hospitals that receive subsidies from the health ministry. “In 2023, we submitted a cost plan to strengthen Namibia’s health system at N$16 billion. That is what we are currently busy implementing, with a strong focus on infrastructure development of the district hospital in Windhoek,” Nangombe says. He says the question should not be whether the presidential directive would work, but rather how to ensure civil servants use public healthcare services. “With ongoing improvement, these facilities will be more than capable of serving all Namibians, including senior government officials,” he says. ‘PSEMAS WILL CONTINUE’ Ministry of Finance and Social Grants Management spokesperson Wilson Shikoto yesterday said there are no conflicting directives with regards to Psemas. “Therefore, there are currently no planned changes to Psemas – the medical aid scheme will continue,” he said. The move has been welcomed by Landless People’s Movement (LPM) national youth league leader Duminga Ndala. “It is commendable that civil servants have been given such directives, as it provides them with an opportunity to experience first-hand the challenges of the broken healthcare system that citizens have long been subjected to,” she says. Ndala believes such an approach could serve as a catalyst for the swift improvement of healthcare in the country, as it would help the government realise the urgency of transforming the state healthcare system. She, however, cautions that such a directive cannot be made mandatory, as individuals have the right to choose the healthcare system they deem most suitable for their needs. Ndala says the president and minister of health and social services Esperance Luvindao need to advocate the transformation of public healthcare by upgrading hospitals and clinics to world-class standards, addressing the doctor-patient ratio in clinics and hospitals, and ensuring hospitals are capacitated with the necessary resources to treat people. ‘IT’S ONLY FAIR’ The presidential directive was announced by Luvindao at the closing of an annual five-day strategic plan review and performance agreement workshop at Otjiwarongo last week. The new health minister was quoted by NBC saying: “Very interesting. When I first heard her [the president] say this, I thought she might be joking. But then it was repeated, and I realised she was serious. “By April 2026, senior government officials, myself included, will need to use state facilities for our healthcare. At first, I expected significant pushback, but then I thought, why? If we are doing our best, we should be open to using the same services as the public. It’s only fair.” She said when implemented, this move will align with the ministry’s service charter, mission, and goals. Swanu of Namibia president Evilastus Kaaronda says if the principle is to encourage civil servants to use state hospitals it is a great move. However, he warns that any forced directive should not be allowed in a democratic country like Namibia. “No one should impose any directives on anyone. But if it is a way of encouragement to revive the lost confidence from the public in regards to hospitals, it is a very good thing. But we must beef up capacity first,” he says. He cautions that in the current state, the health sector lacks capacity to handle high volumes, citing that it could result in risking people’s health. It would be irresponsible for the president to give such a directive without capacitating the health sector first, Kaaronda says. The post Senior officials to use state hospitals from 2026 – Ngurare backs presidential directive appeared first on The Namibian.

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Public hospitals lack capacity to treat top civil servants – PDM Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) member Winnie Moongo says the presidential directive urging top government officials to use state healthcare facilities is impractical. She said this in reponse to the announcement of the directive by minister of health and social services Esperance Luvindao at a workshop with senior health officials at Otjiwarongo last week. Luvindao said the directive, which will come into effect in April 2026, will see senior civil servants like herself seeking medical attention at state hospitals. “This move is not practical with the current state of our public hospitals already facing numerous challenges,” Moongo says. She says these challenges stem from corruption in the ministry’s tender process, a lack of and dilapidating infrastructure, and a lack of specialised health personnel from various disciplines. The never-ending shortages of clinical supplies and medication, she says, is still a major problem in hospitals. Moongo says the doctor-to-patient ratio continues to be a challenge in public hospitals. “The ministry is already failing to cater for over 78% of the population that solely depends on public hospitals for medical services. How is this going to work if you add more to it?” she asks. Moongo suggests that the government first address the challenges it is currently experiencing before it further overwhelms public hospitals. The objective, she says, should be to professionalise medical care in the public sector. “We need to raise the standard of services rendered – not add more baggage.” The post Public hospitals lack capacity to treat top civil servants – PDM appeared first on The Namibian.

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