The new Bokamoso Private Hospital is facing closure because of lack of support from government, parastatals and professional bodies.
The Mmopane-based world-class facility was opened seven months ago as a centre of excellence and a regional pacesetter. But now it is walking a financial tightrope, with a P250 million deficit because it has failed to attract sufficient business. Kabelo Ebineng, the hospital's chief executive officer told journalists yesterday that unless the situation changes, they will have to retrench staff. "As a hospital, we are not getting enough patient volumes. We were never under the illusion that all referral patients for specialist services would be sent to us. We are not asking for a total shift from what has been happening. We simply want to be part of the mix," said Ebineng. The 'mix' includes the Gaborone Private Hospital and South Africa's Milpark and Morningside. Ebineng said that low patient volume plus other expenses has led to losses at higher levels than expected. The hospital has over 30 world-class clinics and an accident and emergency wing, 200 beds and over 23 specialist services. Local patients have been travelling to South Africa, India, Pakistan, the UK and the United States to get some of the specialist services available at Bokamoso.
