Marina�s colourful history
Staff Writer | Friday January 30, 2015 15:17
The hospital was established in 1966, when the country gained independence, and began operating on April 4, 1967. At that time it also doubled as the maternity clinic.
At the time, PMH was the biggest building in Gaborone which only constituted a few building blocks at Independence. “Princess Marina” as it is called was the most relevant name for the hospital as it shone like a diamond and brought life and colour to the mother city.
The hospital brought life and hope to many Batswana from all corners of the country where referred patients enjoyed the best possible medical care. With Botswana having a small population, the hospital was able to cater for its people’s needs but as time went by this ability declined in line with population growth.
As the city grew with developments such as residential neighbourhoods, malls, post offices, police stations and others, more migrants moved in attracted by the greener pastures. From servicing a population of 5,000 at Independence, Marina presently has the 300,000 residents of Gaborone to attend to and sees over 2,500 patients daily with about 100 in Accident and Emergency.
Besides the higher numbers, the hospital has also witnessed an increasing complexity of diseases associated with the cross-cultural makeup of Gaborone and also the growing medical sophistication among patients.
However, Princess Marina has continued to specialise and adapt over the years, with one such initiative - Centre of Excellence – being done in collaboration with various partners.
From 2009, PMH introduced several initiatives that have set a new standard in the provision of health services in the country. The same year, the Hospital conducted heart surgery through a partnership with a Mauritian team of specialists.
To date, the hospital has done 76 such surgeries! The hospital has also established an Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence to provide specialist orthopaedic services in particular arthroplasty (hip and knee joint surgery) in collaboration with South Africa’s Wits University. The Centre conducts six sessions a year and to date, 20 sessions and 298 operations have been done. The hospital has also reduced waiting times from a year to six months.
In as much as it has advanced over the years, the hospital continues to be troubled by overcrowding, lack of supplies, staff shortage and low morale as well as inadequate infrastructure.