Appalling conditions in Katutura hospital

CONDITIONS in bathrooms and toilets at the Katutura State Hospital have deteriorated to the extent where patients on the sixth and seventh floors have had to make use of soiled, extremely dirty and unhygienic facilities unfit for human use.

One patient, initially housed on the seventh floor and then moved to the sixth floor, encountered similar conditions in the bathroom and toilet facilities of both floors. Photos taken by a relative of the patient on a cellphone camera reveal the appalling state of the facilities. Toilets are dirty and are not stocked with toilet paper. The floors surrounding the toilets are as dirty as the toilets themselves. In the bathrooms, conditions are even worse, as patients have resorted to defecating in the bathtubs, and no attempt has been made to clean them.The result has been that patients have begun using small plastic tubs to wash themselves, with some of these having become soiled as well.The showers tell a similar story, as pools of dirty water lay undrained on shower floors as a result of blockages.This comes a mere two weeks since The Namibian reported on the unhygienic conditions at the Katutura State Hospital Nurses’ Home, where it was discovered that a broken pipe, dirty bathrooms, leaking taps, blocked basins and toilets and broken elevators all contribute to sub-standard living conditions.Upon inspecting the hospital itself, The Namibian discovered dirty bathtubs and showers, as well as rubbish stacked in the corridors. When entering most of the bathrooms on the hospital’s eight floors, one is greeted with the putrid stench of urine. A parent whose child is in the paediatric ward on the eighth floor complained of mice in the children’s ward.’I’ve told the nurses of the mice but nothing was done, and when I told the doctors about the problem, one doctor told me to bring my cat to the hospital to catch the mice,’ she said.The woman, who asked not to be named, told The Namibian that the cleaners in the paediatric ward do not use any soap or antibacterial detergent when cleaning the bathrooms, and that only a wet mop or cloth is used. When contacted, Dr Rheinhardt Gariseb, Senior Medical Superintendent of the Katutura Hospital, would not comment, but referred The Namibian to Gladys Kamboo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Kambo could not be reached for comment.