BY VICTOR BAATWENG
If the latest annual report of the office of the Auditor General is anything to go by, then a referral hospital in the northern part of the country – Nyangabwe Hospital should be the last option for any patient looking for decent medical attention.
An audit inspection of the hospital by the Auditor General has raised red flags at the state of some of the machines used by the hospital.
“A number of machines were reported to be dysfunctional to the detriment of the hospital service delivery”, said Pulane Letebele ÔÇô the Auditor General.
Amongst the machines listed by the inspection team as dysfunctional is the, X-Ray machines, MRI machine ÔÇô which is the only one in government facilities country wide, as well as the Boiler Shop ÔÇô regarded as paramount for the supply of steam to other machines in the hospital.
The Auditor General Inspection team also unearthed malpractices that could compromise the health of patients hospitalised at the Francistown based referral hospital.
During the audit, it was discovered that an unnamed contractor engaged for provision of catering services to the hospital was not complying with some of the terms of the signed contract.
The audit team is said to have observed that Nyangabwe hospital staff was not always present in the wards during feed hours to confirm quality and correctness of the meals fed to patients. At the same time, some kitchen equipment and machinery were found not to be in a satisfactory state.
Letebele further stated that another breach of contract was that the hospital contract manager did not provide the daily patients’ census to the contractor, instead the unnamed contractor performed this function. This is said to be an unusual set-up.
The contractor in question was awarded a tender to provide catering services to Nyangabwe Hospital for a period of 36 months running from January 2016 to December 2018. The deal has been pegged at P58 861 361. Meanwhile Letebele said her attempts seek clarity from the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of health in October 2018 hit a snag as no response was given, even to date.
