In fact, so gloomy is the picture that the hospital may even close, going the way of Hyundai, Volvo and many other projects of strategic national importance that went to the wall for lack of support. Within a short space of time, Bokamoso has established itself as a centre of excellence, ahead of even our country’s envisaged Health Hub. Hence it beats common sense that the government should still be referring people to famous Jo’burg when Gaborone has a world-class facility manned by world-class specialists and other personnel. In fact, in certain respects, Bokamoso is in a class of its own because some of its equipment cannot be found anywhere else on the African continent. But all this investment hangs in limbo because of the colonial holdover that South African facilities are superior and more worthy of the millions of pula that the Government of Botswana pays them per year. It is an expensive holdover; one that translates into a mammoth P250-million deficit at Bokamoso, thanks to the government’s reluctance to use its specialised services. We are told that in the seven months that the hospital has been in operation, the government has referred no more than 30 patients to the hospital. And even then, these were mainly for diagnostics because the computerised tomography scanner (CT scan) at Princess Marian Hospital (PMH) broke down.
Surely someone must explain the obstacles encountered in referring patients to a well-equipped local hospital and the contrasting alacrity with which patients are jettisoned across the border! Or are we wrong to expect this?
