Patients Who Are ‘Numbers’

ALLOW me to air my disappointment with regard to some practices I have observed in our health system.

It is about the system used by some local clinics (State-owned ones of course), where patients are allocated numbers and are treated in order of such numbers. While it was (probably) a good idea in principle to allocate such numbers to patients so as to avoid acts such as queue-hopping, it is strange to note that some patients have to be turned back once numbers (written on pieces of wood) have been distributed.That applies at any time, even at 14h00 in the afternoon.If anyone wants to challenge me, I would advise them to go to the Hakahana clinic in the Tobias Hainyeko Constituency.There you will find that even if there are only five patients inside the clinic and there is plenty of time before knock-off at 17h00, the personnel there are not ashamed to tell you to go and return tomorrow because “the numbers are finished”.Namibians, where are we heading? How on earth can a person who has taken an oath to represent the patient tell a sick person to go and return the next day or go to “bigger clinics”.Clinics are being scattered around the country as part of Government’s attempts to bring services closer to the people, the majority of whom still live below the poverty line.I have noted with greater appreciation Government’s efforts to uphold the country’s health system, and credit goes to Minister Kamwi for his tireless efforts in this regard.However, if the Minister and the Government as a whole are not doing anything about patients being turned away, just because they don’t have “numbers”, then I would say Government is not doing enough.My suggestion is that a monitoring system must be put in place to watch what civil servants at medium and lower levels are doing.Toivo Ndjebela Helsinki, FinlandWhile it was (probably) a good idea in principle to allocate such numbers to patients so as to avoid acts such as queue-hopping, it is strange to note that some patients have to be turned back once numbers (written on pieces of wood) have been distributed.That applies at any time, even at 14h00 in the afternoon.If anyone wants to challenge me, I would advise them to go to the Hakahana clinic in the Tobias Hainyeko Constituency.There you will find that even if there are only five patients inside the clinic and there is plenty of time before knock-off at 17h00, the personnel there are not ashamed to tell you to go and return tomorrow because “the numbers are finished”.Namibians, where are we heading? How on earth can a person who has taken an oath to represent the patient tell a sick person to go and return the next day or go to “bigger clinics”.Clinics are being scattered around the country as part of Government’s attempts to bring services closer to the people, the majority of whom still live below the poverty line.I have noted with greater appreciation Government’s efforts to uphold the country’s health system, and credit goes to Minister Kamwi for his tireless efforts in this regard.However, if the Minister and the Government as a whole are not doing anything about patients being turned away, just because they don’t have “numbers”, then I would say Government is not doing enough.My suggestion is that a monitoring system must be put in place to watch what civil servants at medium and lower levels are doing.Toivo Ndjebela Helsinki, Finland