Tsitsi Matope
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital is back to life once again, with the cry of babies following medical interventions that induce a little pain to save their fragile lives, confirming the rise from the ashes of this erstwhile epicenter of Lesotho’s health sector.
Yesterday morning, some heavily pregnant women could be seen inside the hospital waiting their turn to be examined, while some proud mothers appeared not to tire of looking at their babies’ tiny fists and beautiful faces as they breastfed their little angels.
Nursing officer Lereng Makoae
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, which stirred a lot of controversies before and after its closure by government three years ago, is back, albeit providing limited free services.
Not many people could have guessed in just a few years after its closure, part of the hospital would be facilitating health services once again.
Nurses, doctors, pharmacy technicians and other healthcare workers could be seen busy at work this week – right inside the hospital once condemned mainly for being too old and dilapidated to deliver effective services.
Popularly known simply as Queen II, the hospital’s closure came upon the completion of the construction of the Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital, which subsequently became Lesotho’s national referral hospital.
Yet while Queen II’s infrastructure is a far cry from the state-of-the-art Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital, widely known as Tšepong, its workers appeared not to mind as they cheerfully went about their business.
The shorter queues, which were alien to the hospital at its closure, create a hard-to-believe scenario that this could be the same hospital that had caused so much pain due to poor service and unfavourable working conditions.
However, now without all the chaos and overcrowding, and with enough space to allow fresh air to circulate, Queen II looks reassuring and gives that promise of a new life amidst the bustle of the city.
Just having a health facility within many people’s workplaces is what makes Queen II such a welcome addition to the country’s health sector.
This week many mothers who visited the hospital from various parts of Maseru had kind words for the facility, saying how it was helping them to easily access certain services.
The hospital started providing family planning, neonatal, child healthcare and HIV-testing, counseling and treatment of mainly mothers and babies in January this year.
While some critics have taken a wait-and-see approach so far, the hospital returns a different entity and with a new mandate, according to some senior officials at the Ministry of Health.
For now, only services crucial to the wellbeing of mothers, babies and HIV/AIDS patients are being offered , and just when they were needed most at such a strategic location.
Various stakeholders yesterday visited the hospital to witness the official launch of the Anti-Retroviral Treatment Corner, with the guests expressing optimism the hospital would not earn its notoriety of old.
Although operations started in June, the Ministry of Health officially opened the once closed three units of the Bophelong ART Corner to further broaden the HIV/AIDS related services in Maseru.
The resuscitation of services, which are also now improved, is one of government’s efforts to strengthen its interventions against HIV/AIDS.
In an interview, the Director for Disease Control in the Ministry of Health, Dr Moselinyane Letsie, said government was geared to introduce a cocktail of services in more strategic areas to strengthen accessibility of HIV-related services.
“The current HIV/AIDS situation demands that we stop at nothing to ensure we have proper systems that would help to further build-up and fortify the fight against new infections and make sure those living positively are healthy. HIV-positive mothers and fathers should be able to live and take care of their babies,” Dr Letsie said.
Dr Letsie further said patients from Maseru district who suffer severe ailments that need specialised attention are to be referred to the Bophelong ART Corner.
“They will be cared for and after recovery, referred back to their original clinics for continued treatment.”
Dr Letsie said services will also be provided to patients living in areas such as parts of Katlehong and Sea Point, Maseru West and Ha-Hoohlo.
“Such patients can access services even without being referred.”
Dr Letsie said her ministry and its partners would continue working on new innovations to enhance systems and help mitigate the AIDS epidemic.
The Elizabeth Glasier and Paediatric Aids Foundation (EGPAF) donated 10 filing cabinets and other pieces of furniture, heaters, a television set and blood pressure machines.
A television in the waiting room brings a fresh twist to the ART Corner, which would be managed by five nurses, three nursing assistants and one doctor, for now. Two other doctors are expected to join the unit soon. According to Nursing Officer Lereng Makoae, Bophelong ART Corner would conduct more outreach programmes than was the case in the hospital’s old days.
“We are going to run mobile clinics targeting workers from the five factories in Maseru, which were not included in the Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight Aids (ALAFA) interventions,” Ms Makaoe said.
The mobile clinics would provide a full package of HIV/AIDS services, and awareness campaigns are set to focus more on the power of responsible behaviour.
“We have noticed the difficulties faced by factory workers in accessing various services. Sometimes they have their salaries deducted because they had to stop work to collect their drugs. The central location of services will help ease such challenges.”
The doctors too, are going to be hard at work with planned visits to the remote parts of Maseru, which include Ha-Seng in Semonkong, Likalaneng on the way to Thaba-Tseka and Mohale Clinic.
However, below the Bophelong ART Corner, ‘MaKeletso Makara from Bosofo in Ha-Nelese could be seen holding her six-weeks old baby.
Minutes later, a nursing officer, Mponeng Ngakane, weighed the babyboy and closely checked his umbilical cord, among other areas.
Although this is her third baby, Ms Makara also wanted help to properly breastfeed.
“I am finding it challenging to breastfeed this one. The nurses are helping me position him properly for effective breastfeeding,” Ms Makara said.
Afterwards, it was Ms Makara’s turn to undergo a physical examination.
Another nursing officer, Libuseng Makhele said medical examinations on all mothers help staff timely notice any abnormalities that might have occurred during delivery. The hospital does not provide baby-delivery services and refers all its patients to other facilities.
However, Ms Makhele said during some visits, such as the consultation at six-weeks after delivery, they encourage partners to accompany the mothers.
“When we check the mother and baby for various illnesses, it is important that the father or partner is also present. This would allow us to effectively teach healthy practices,” Ms Makhele said
She explained in case the mother is HIV-positive and on treatment, it is imperative to check if the baby is receiving treatment (Nevirapine) to prevent the transmission of the virus.
“During the six-weeks visit, blood for the Dry Blood Sample is drawn from the baby for further laboratory investigations.”
On a daily basis, an average of 13 babies undergo the DNA/PCR testing (Dry Blood Sample), which was introduced in most clinics throughout the country in 2009.
Ms Makhele said in case the mother was not on ARV treatment, the baby would be placed on an extended treatment plan.
“In all our interactions with women, we are initiating HIV-testing to help us provide appropriate services.”
In February alone, out of the 102 pregnant mothers who were attended at Queen II hospital, only 24 knew their HIV status.
“While it is important for couples to know their HIV status and in the case of women, whether pregnant or not, we are seeing that many are not getting tested.”
Ms Makhele further explained that in the case of pregnant mothers, once the results are positive, treatment is initiated immediately.
However, some mothers such as Likeleli Qhesi of Motse-Mocha in Tsenola, testing for HIV should not be a once-off exercise.
“I knew my status but I needed to be sure,” she said.
Ms Qhesi gave birth to her second babyboy 12 days ago at the Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital.
“It helps to know your HIV-status,” she said.
Ms Qhesi said she chose Queen II when she was pregnant because it was closer to her workplace.
“At any given time, I could just rush for a routine examination and quickly return to work.”
With the demands of her pregnancy over, Ms Qhesi understands the importance of avoiding an unplanned pregnancy and staying healthy for her baby.
The family planning section is the hospital’s busiest unit with an average of 35 women seeking services every day. According to Ms Makhele, most women prefer ‘injectables’.
“While we provide a wide range of the traditional birth-control methods for both breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding women, we also encourage dual contraception with the additional use of condoms to prevent sexually transmitted illnesses,” Ms Makhele said.
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