Such is the call by the Botswana Doctors Union (BDU) for urgent reforms from the incoming Umbrella for Democratic Change-led (UDC) government concerning the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital (SKMTH). The union emphasises that the hospital, which was intended to be a public teaching hospital for the University of Botswana (UB), should not be utilised as a private facility. Instead, it must fulfil its original purpose to benefit the public and support the training of medical professionals, the union suggested. Completed in 2014 at a cost of over P2 billion, SKMTH has remained largely unused, only becoming active during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The move to make SKMTH a private hospital was a deliberate self-serving from an elite few thereby diverging from its initial intended purpose when using public funds for the project," claims the union in a statement.
This underutilisation according to BDU president, Dr Kefilwe Selema, has left Princess Marina Hospital (PMH), the country's main referral health facility, overwhelmed and under-resourced. "The current situation of PMH is so bad that laboratory function is at a level of primary hospitals, radiology department which also houses UB radiology residency programme has no functional X-ray, CT scan, and no plan for MRI or any high order imaging diagnostic and treatment modalities,” Selema states. "Additionally, the Intensive Care Unit at PMH has only eight beds compared to the 45 to 90 beds available at SKMTH.” The BDU's statement underscores the broader impact on the healthcare system and the training of medical professionals. They state that the continuous denial of Batswana of their right to optimum health is an act of basic human rights violation and renders many families in poverty and depression due to avoidable high mortalities of breadwinners. The union further submits that medical litigation in Botswana has increased significantly, with claims now exceeding P1 billion to P2 billion annually. This rise, they say is attributed to the under-resourcing of PMH and Nyangabgwe referral hospitals, which suffer from shortages of medical equipment, human resources, and proper funding for maintenance services.
