Maria David
THE Onandjokwe Intermediate Hospital remains the only state-owned health facility with a functional endoscopic machine in the country.
Patients as far as far away as Oshakati are referred to the hospital on a regular basis for testing with its specialised medical equipment.
And endoscopy entails the insertion of a long, thin tube directly into the body to observe an internal organ or tissue in detail and can be used to carry out other tasks including imaging and minor surgery.
Medical superintendent of the Onandjokwe hospital, Dr. Akutu Munyika, said after the Oshakati endoscopic machine broke down patients were than referred to Onandjokwe for treatment, while patients in Windhoek are sometimes referred to a private hospital.
Munyika, who was speaking during the official handover of the endoscopic tower by Debmarine at Onandjokwe hospital on Thursday, said currently they are the only hospital in the country that can provide endoscopy procedures.
Munyika indicated that they have been using a manual endoscopic machine from 1988 to 2017, but the equipment broke down for a few months.
“During that time we have been without equipment and kept trying to get a way to acquire our own machine. However, the Ministry of Health and Social Services purchased one for us in September that same year,” he said.
Munyika revealed that on average, about ten patients go through the procedure on Wednesdays and Fridays and with the donation of the new endoscopic tower by Debmarine Namibia the process will be more efficient and effective.
Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, Esther Muinjangue said that Onandjokwe serves as a regional referral centre for Oshikoto, Ohangwena and parts of Oshana and Otjozondjupa with specific reference to Grootfontein.
Muinjangue noted that the new technological advancement in surgical care have seen an increased demand for minimum invasive surgery also known as Keyhole or endoscopic surgery.
She stated that Onandjokwe is a pioneer of minimum invasive surgery in Namibia and several rounds of training have been conducted at Onandjokwe and neighbouring hospitals as well as Windhoek for the new approaches.
“The advantages of minimum invasive surgery include short hospital stays which translates into less expenses utilities of water, electricity as well as food,” she said.
Muinjangue stated that the donation from Debmarine will assist in addressing many of the challenges by the lack of endoscopic machine.
Speaking at the same occasion, Chief Executive Officer Otto Shikongo, stated that their partnership with the ministry of health spans over several years and the donation comes after a request was made by the Ministry to aid with much need endoscopic machine.
“We are fulfilling the 2019 request from the ministry of health and social services, with the procurement of the N$ 1.3 million endoscopy medical equipment for the Onandjokwe hospital,” he said.
Debmarine has been lived to its obligations of ploughing back to the community by assisting government through the ministry of health with needed assistance since 2006 by renovating the Katutura hospital centre for disease control clinic.
Onandjokwe hospital serves a catchment area with more than 86 000 persons.
