NEWLY sworn-in member of the sixth National Council and Katima Mulilo Urban constituency councillor, Kennedy Simasiku, has bemoaned the slow progress made to upgrade Katima Mulilo District Hospital to an intermediate hospital.
Simasiku expressed his worries in his maiden speech in the National Council on Monday.
He said due to a lack of equipment and facilities at Katima Mulilo District Hospital, patients are forced to travel over 500 kilometres to Rundu Intermediate Hospital, and in many cases to Windhoek, for referrals.
According to the councillor, this has put tremendous strain on the ambulance fleet of the hospital, with one ambulance having clocked more than 800 000 kilometres.
“Worryingly, the health ministry sought the services of private ambulances as a stop-gap intervention, but here is one for this House to ponder. A single trip from Katima Mulilo costs the ministry around N$40 000, and if such services are utilised often which is the norm, in a single month if they use that private ambulance on four occasions, it would cost N$160 000. In six months it goes to around N$960 000 – enough to buy a brand new Land Cruiser, and to fit it into an ambulance,” he said.
Simasiku approached the Ministry of Health and Social Services with this information a year ago with a suggestion to buy new ambulances as the upkeep of old vehicles, and continued use of private ambulances is wasteful, but nothing has happened to date.
“I again brought it to the attention of the newly-appointed minister and I am hoping that she heard our plea. For how long will such simple logic not be applied to ensure reliable ambulance services for the region?” he questioned.
Simasiku replaced former Kabbe South constituency councillor John Likando in the National Council. Likando resigned as councillor and member of the National Council when he was elevated to the National Assembly in March.
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