Relatives send blankets to Marina as winter bites
Baboki Kayawe | Thursday July 21, 2016 10:03
This has raised concern that the hospital may be defeating efforts to control infectious diseases by allowing patients to check in with their own blankets to keep warm during the chilly nights, since the hospital does not have enough blankets or an adequate heating system.
A caretaker who declined to be named said blankets from home had the potential to spread cross-infections.
“My worry is that bringing blankets from home can pose danger to patients whose immune systems are already weak. There is a reason for having laundry and disinfection services in the hospital, but with own blankets the purpose is undermined,” said the concerned caregiver.
Another relative whose father was referred from Maun said she was surprised to learn about the situation when her father was hospitilised at dawn but no blankets were availed.
“He was just given two worn out sheets that cold morning,” she said.
A number of patients with their own blankets said they had no choice as they feared the chilly nights. The problem of shortage of blankets at the hospital has been going on for years now. Princess Marina spokesperson, Donnell Kutlapye, had not yet responded to Mmegi questions sent to his desk on July 9.