Hertta-Maria Amutenja
Engela District Hospital, one of the biggest hospitals in the north has dozens of stray cats roaming the halls of the hospital and have become a nuisance to patients and the medical staff.
The hospital not only caters for the 10 surrounding constituencies but also to Angolan nationals, who cross the border daily for various medical services, including antenatal care and collecting various medications. The Engela Hospital is situated at the border town of Helao Nafidi.
Concerned patients and nurses recently revealed to the Windhoek Observer that stray cats frequently prowl the wards and hallways, especially at night, in search of food scraps left by patients, visitors, and hospital staff.
A staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity said the problematic cats are rarely seen during the day and are usually only seen at night when hospital activity has reduced.
“The cats in this hospital are very problematic, it is so bad. We see a few of them during the day but as soon as the sun sets and when most day visiting patients and visitors have left, they come out in large numbers,” said the nurse
She said that despite repeatedly reaching out to the rightful authorities to try and evacuate the cats, their appeals have been ignored.
“We don’t know what to do anymore. We just walk past them because when we tell our superiors nothing is done about the cats,” she added.
However, a patient who also spoke on condition of anonymity accused the medical staff of failing to keep the hospital clean.
“The nurses just leave the place looking like a pigsty. As you can see things are just lying around in the corridors and they will overnight there. Such things attract stray cats because they want to feed on the leftovers,” he said.
Hygiene at the district hospital is also said to be compromised, as the hospital does not have a sewage-pumping machine and currently uses one that belongs to the Helao Nafidi Town Council.
The patient, who claims to have spent three days in the hospital, also claimed that the hospital staff failed to give him clean sheets.
When contacted for comment, Executive Director at the Ministry of Health, Ben Nangombe, said it is unacceptable, and the cleaning crews must do a better job of preventing cats or other animals from attracting leftover food and that medical facilities, and hygiene must be upheld.
“It is unacceptable and the cleaning teams need to do a better job to make sure that leftover food does not attract cats or other animals otherwise it will be a breeding ground for insects such as cockroaches. Hygiene needs to be maintained in health facilities,” stated Nangombe.
In addition he said there are several issues that need to be taken into account when determining why cats are drawn to the hospital
“We need to look at the number of issues. If it is s because the windows are not closing, then we could be reinforced and put up barriers so that cats do not come through. Another issue is that patients leave food out in the open leaving the cats to have easy access to the food, so it will also be helpful in terms of patients to be more careful in how they handle their food and how the food is accessible to the cats,” he said
Moreover, earlier this year it was reported the hospital is facing an array of challenges that hamper proper and adequate services to the communities it serves.
Defunct generator backup systems in times of power outages, inadequate mortuary cabinets, lack of a sewerage system and broken laundry machines to mention a few are just some of the challenges contributing to compromised healthcare quality.
The situation was brought to light following the visitation to the hospital in January by the Popular Democratic Movement’s (PDM) member of parliament, Hidipo Hamata
