The Swakopmund Constituency Councillor is advocating for the upgrade of the DRC Clinic into a health centre to ease congestion at the Tamariskia Clinic.
The newly elected Swakopmund Constituency Councillor visited state clinics to assess challenges that are hampering the delivery of services.
Victor Maswahu was informed by health workers about severe congestion, limited space and limited services at some of the clinics.
The DRC clinic currently serves about 24,000 residents but offers only basic services, forcing many residents from DRC and Mondesa to travel to Tamariskia for treatment.
The situation worsened after the Mondesa clinic burnt down earlier this year, with Tamariskia now experiencing long queues and stretched staff.
Evelyn Kgosiemang is a registered nurse at Tamariskia Clinic.
"There is a problem with space. The tent that we have outside helps us a lot because it allows us to at least accommodate those who are not very sick. We obviously give preference to our pregnant ladies - we do not let them wait for long. We also don't want anyone to wait the whole day at the facility, but sometimes it's out of our control. We also prioritise people with disabilities and the elderly. We have plenty of space here. If we can expand this clinic - not only because Mondesa is not operating - we can offer several more services and employ a bit more human resources; that's our nurses to assist."
"What we need now for DRC is to advocate for upgrading that clinic into a health centre. That will help with the decongestion of the Mondesa and Tamariskia clinics. Currently, they are busy renovating Mondesa clinic, and I was assured by the regional health director, Dr Jonas, that it will be done soon. Once it's completed, it will also ease pressure on Tamariskia, as the patients being seen here will be attended to at Mondesa. LINK We should push more for DRC. If the DRC clinic is upgraded, all of this congestion we see here will be reduced. In the meantime, I agreed with the director that they need to write me a letter so we can look for a sponsor or for the Regional Council to provide a container temporarily so that the services not currently offered at DRC can be provided," says Maswahu.
Since the Mondesa clinic burnt down, residents from DRC and Mondesa have repeatedly expressed frustration over the congestion at the Tamariskia clinic.
They are calling on the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) to speed up the restoration of the Mondesa clinic and to improve services at the DRC clinic to meet their needs.