Govt sets up medical centres of excellence

PETER MADIYA
Correspondent | Wednesday March 14, 2012 00:00

 

The ministry's chief public relations officer, Doreen Motshegwa said: 'Deborah Retief Memorial Hospital and Sekgoma Memorial Hospital will be the only two centres where eye specialists will be found. The ministry is busy equipping both hospitals with sophisticated equipment.

'With these centres of speciality, patients will be assured of quality service at its best as they will receive treatment on a par with private hospitals and even better because the government has the necessary finance.' Motshegwa notes that existing eye clinics will continue to run until hospitals identified as centres of excellence are ready to receive patients from across the country.

Diabetes specialist clinics will be established at Block 6 Clinic in Gaborone and at Donga Clinic in Francistown.

Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone will host cardiac and spinal cord centres, while Mahalapye Primary Hospital will host an orthopaedics specialist unit that will relocate from Nyangabwe Referral Hospital in Francistown.

'In the event that a patient is referred to any centre of excellence, we will look at the urgency of the referral and the patient's social status to determine whether they need to be assisted with transport,' Motshegwa says.