By:Hilya Ngolo
Debmarine Namibia has donated state-of-the-art endoscopy equipment to the Swakopmund District Hospital through the Ministry of Health and Social Services(MoHSS).
Speaking at the official handover of the donation, Health Minister Kalumbi Shangula said the equipment will strengthen the provision of surgical care by providing reliable and timely diagnostic and interventional endoscopic procedures for patients. And most importantly, it will significantly improve health outcomes.
The Ministry has expanded the national medical internship programme to several hospitals in various regions, In Erongo, the programme has been expanded to Swakopmund District Hospital and Walvis Bay District Hospital.
The medical interns are trained in six clinical domains, one of these domains being general surgery.
“The interns will rotate between the two hospitals, to undergo training in the domains that are available at one hospital and not the other, and vice versa,” Kalumbi said.
The provision of training and the formation of skills is critical to the provision of quality, effective, and safe medical care. Thus, it is essential for in-service training to be part and parcel of any health system.
The donated equipment will also be used in the training of approximately 40 medical interns at Swakopmund District Hospital. Among its many benefits, the equipment will improve not only the quality of training of medical interns but also the quality of surgical care provided to patients.
Debmarine Namibia Chief Executive Officer Willy Mertens said, through this programme,”our ultimate goal with this is to help address the social economic challenges we have in the country” as a healthy nation can be a prosperous nation.
Debmarine Namibia evolves around utilising advanced state-of-the-art technology. This technology benefits the country and Debmarine is true to its social responsibility agenda which is focused on broad-based community needs throughout the country.
As part of the country’s goal to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030, the MoHSS has established various technical working groups following the Policy Framework for Universal Health Coverage which was endorsed by the Cabinet.
One of these technical working groups is tasked with revising the Essential Health Services Package (EHSP) for health facilities which was adopted in 2014.
The EHSP refers to the basic package of health services that should be available and accessible at all health facilities in Namibia. Surgical services form a crucial part of this revised package of health services and are thus being prioritised, especially at the district health facility level.
In addition, to strengthen surgical systems and improve surgical care in Namibia, the MoHSS has developed the National Surgical, Anaesthesia and Obstetric Plan (NSOAP).
This Plan, which the Ministry hopes to launch soon, further highlights the commitment to ensuring equitable access to health services across the surgical care continuum.
Debmarine Namibia has been in partnership with MoHSS for 16 years and has accomplished various goals over the years. In 2006 – 2007 Debamarine helped MoHSS to upgrade the Katutura Health Centre.
In 2015 Debmaine made a five-year commitment to support the national suicide programme, which was revived for an additional year and aimed at decreasing the rate of suicide cases through education and awareness.