Patients camp outside hospitalResidents of the northern border area say they are too ill to return home and prefer to camp at the nearest hospital in case they need urgent medical care. Nearest clinic 50km away 0 Lack of health facilities in the Omahenene area on the border with Angola has forced ailing residents to camp in Outapi near the district hospital while waiting to see a doctor.Ageing pensioners are among those who are camping at the site and they are complaining of hunger as there is no one supplying them with food and their families cannot afford travelling about 60km every day to bringing them food.
According to those who were found by Namibian Sun at the campsite last week, their camp accommodates people with a variety of medical conditions who need medical attention, those who were discharged from the Outapi hospital or Oshakati Intermediate Hospital but they still don’t feel well, people from Omahenene who require follow-up appointments, and Angolans seeking medical care in Namibia.
They said there is no clinic at Omahenene. The nearest is the Oshifo clinic at Ruacana, about 50km away, but it does not operate after hours and it does not attend to serious medical conditions and emergencies.
“We opted to stay close by the hospital so that we can easily take our ailing people into the hospital immediately when they have a medical emergency. At Oshifo clinic they will only refer us to Outapi and sometimes there is no ambulance. Sometimes people from our area die at home or on the way to the hospital,” said Selma Shiko.
They said they need a health centre at Omahenene or Epalela where they can go for immediate medical care and emergencies.
Simon Uazamo, 76, said he has a leg problem and was discharged from Oshakati Intermediate Hospital last week Monday but is still not fully recovered.
He said he was not feeling fit enough to return to Omahenene, in case he gets ill again and requires immediate medical care.
He claimed that due to overcrowding in hospital wards, he was discharged from hospital on several occasions although he had not fully recovered, and it was a problem for his family problems to take him back to hospital when he got worse.
“We cannot afford going home with him like this, what if he starts complaining again and we don’t have transport to bring him here? At least we must camp here to be able to get him to the hospital on time every time he is not feeling well,” Uazamo’s guardian said.
Acting regional health director Esra Kavela said his office was unaware of such people or their complaints, but he confirmed that there are no health facilities in Omahenene.
He said if the people were really ill they would have been in hospital. “If those people were discharged from hospitals, but did not go home, maybe they are not Namibians and they are just looking for a place to stay, and that is why they are living under trees,” Kavela said.
ILENI NANDJATO