Ester Mbathera
The Namibia Nurses Union has urged the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) to take the condition of public hospitals seriously.
This follows an order for nurses to return to Katutura Intermediate Hospital from Windhoek Central Hospital, where they had been stationed since March last year due to planned renovations of the Katutura surgical ward.
Ruben Uunona from the union expressed concerns about the state of the ward.
“We are hoping that the ministry takes this hospital seriously and renovates it, and if they are renovating it, they should build another new hospital that is at our standard,” he said.
The directive, dated 31 January, instructed nurses to report for duty at Katutura Hospital on 3 February.
“This move is part of ongoing efforts to streamline surgical operations and enhance patient care,” reads the letter.
The renovations have, however, not taken place.
According to the directive, the air conditioning system in Theatres 1 and 6 was not operational.
“As a result, all gynaecological surgeries will continue to be performed at the respiratory unit theatre should the air conditioning issues not be addressed and resolved prior to the transition date,” reads the letter.
A visit by the Windhoek Observer to Katutura Intermediate Hospital’s second-floor surgical ward last week revealed that equipment was scattered on the floors, furniture in the nurses’ resting rooms was broken, and bird droppings were visible on the floor.
These signs indicated that no major work had been done in the ten months since renovations were supposed to begin.
However, looking through the closed doors of Wards 2A and 2B, some completed work was visible.
Uunona said the current working conditions were difficult for nurses, who often had to stand for hours depending on the complexity of the surgery.
“The nurses deserve a more comfortable working environment, peaceful and risk-free, where they are also happy,” he said.
Katutura Hospital, built in 1973 as a referral public health facility, receives over 2 000 patients per month.
In the 2023 financial year, the MoHSS received N$40 million from the Ministry of Works and Transport for renovations.
In April last year, when the executive director of the works ministry, Esther Kaapanda, visited the site, she disclosed that only N$10 million of the allocated N$40 million was utilised.
The Ministry of Works and Transport’s Director of Maintenance and Fixed Asset Management, Ferdinand Ganaseb, explained that full renovations could not proceed until designs, drawings, and documentation were completed by specialist engineers, quantity surveyors, and architects.
“Renovations are still ongoing at the Katutura Intermediate Hospital. There are different areas where works are executed by different contractors. No work has been done in the theatres yet as this ministry is still in the process of appointing consultants to carry out documentation for the theatres, including the air conditioning,” he said.
Ganaseb added that consultants were working with hospital management to finalise the necessary documentation.
“This ministry is busy with that and we anticipate the appointment of these consultants to be finalised within the next two weeks,” he said.
He confirmed that civil works for the acute care unit had been completed, while those for the head injury unit were in progress and expected to be completed by 24 February.
“The ministry is in the process of finalising the appointment of a contractor for air conditioning for head injury and acute care. It was presented to the procurement committee last Thursday, 30 January 2025. Medical gas for the entire 2nd floor still needs to be readvertised as the previous contractor had internal organisation challenges and the award was cancelled,” he said.
He also confirmed that air conditioning had been installed in most areas, except for Theatres 1 and 6, which still required replacements.
