Hospitals take aim at security firm

THE Windhoek Central Hospital yesterday took aim at its security company in a bid to clamp down on recent thefts and attacks on staff as a result of lax security measures at the country’s two main health facilities.

The move follows an attack on a medical doctor by three interns on Thursday. The interns say they mistook Dr John Kamara for a suspect who had broken into a colleague’s flat on the hospital premises.Acting Superintendent of the Windhoek Central Hospital, Dr Andreas Obholzer, said yesterday that recent criminal cases were proof of the “totally inadequate” protection of property and life at the hospitals.Over the weekend, an attempt to steal a Government vehicle from the garage near the ambulance station was foiled.But a nurse – on duty on Saturday night – had her car stolen from the casualty parking lot.It was driven past guards at one of the main entrances only a few metres away.The hospital’s pharmacy has also been broken into in recent days, but it is suspected that it might have been an insider as there were no obvious signs of illegal entry.Obholzer said the administration had now requested the security company to provide daily reports of security-related incidents at the hospitals – something he said was customary when Government handled its own security at the hospitals.The company has a three-year contract which expires in September.Weaknesses in the hospitals’ security system, he said, had also been pointed out to the company and proposals had been submitted to improve the system.He said bringing the facilities’ security situation up to scratch would not happen overnight, but he expected it to become a matter of ongoing discussion between the two parties.The company has not yet provided the hospital with reports of what transpired on the night Dr John Kamara was attacked by fellow doctors along the service road between the two hospitals.Both parties said security guards were present at the time.The three interns involved in the attack on Kamara appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges of theft.They chased down Kamara in the early morning hours of Thursday as they hunted for three men one of them says they saw breaking in to their living quarters.It was the fourth incident of theft at the flats since the beginning of the year.Last week, interns said they had had enough of having their possessions looted while they served the nation and demanded that the hospital look into the state of their security system.The interns say they mistook Dr John Kamara for a suspect who had broken into a colleague’s flat on the hospital premises. Acting Superintendent of the Windhoek Central Hospital, Dr Andreas Obholzer, said yesterday that recent criminal cases were proof of the “totally inadequate” protection of property and life at the hospitals. Over the weekend, an attempt to steal a Government vehicle from the garage near the ambulance station was foiled. But a nurse – on duty on Saturday night – had her car stolen from the casualty parking lot. It was driven past guards at one of the main entrances only a few metres away. The hospital’s pharmacy has also been broken into in recent days, but it is suspected that it might have been an insider as there were no obvious signs of illegal entry. Obholzer said the administration had now requested the security company to provide daily reports of security-related incidents at the hospitals – something he said was customary when Government handled its own security at the hospitals. The company has a three-year contract which expires in September. Weaknesses in the hospitals’ security system, he said, had also been pointed out to the company and proposals had been submitted to improve the system. He said bringing the facilities’ security situation up to scratch would not happen overnight, but he expected it to become a matter of ongoing discussion between the two parties. The company has not yet provided the hospital with reports of what transpired on the night Dr John Kamara was attacked by fellow doctors along the service road between the two hospitals. Both parties said security guards were present at the time. The three interns involved in the attack on Kamara appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges of theft. They chased down Kamara in the early morning hours of Thursday as they hunted for three men one of them says they saw breaking in to their living quarters. It was the fourth incident of theft at the flats since the beginning of the year. Last week, interns said they had had enough of having their possessions looted while they served the nation and demanded that the hospital look into the state of their security system.