Clinic runs out of drugs

MASERU – A clinic serving 53 villages in Leribe has run out of drugs putting the health of villagers who rely on the facility for services at risk.

A midwife who works at St Denis Clinic told thepost this week that as a result they have been returning patients home since October last year.

The stunning revelation was made during a media tour of clinics in Leribe and Berea that was funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), ahead of observation of International Midwives Day.

The day will be celebrated on May 5.

thepost could not immediately establish if this is a national problem across most clinics.

Tlaleng Motaba, a midwife at the St Denis Clinic in the rural part of Leribe’s mountainous region of Ha-Khabo, said patients have not been attended to sufficiently in the past five months.

Many of her pregnant patients come from distant villages only to be told that there are no drugs. They have to be referred to other health facilities.

She said she felt pity for patients from the two villages of Ha-Makepe and Ha-Pentšewho sometimes travel on foot for three to four hours to reach the clinic.

“It depends on the day and whether there is any bus for that day,” Motaba said.

She said they had stopped providing maternal services since last October because of a lack of medication.

“We are however hoping and willing to work anytime we get them,” she said.

“Sometimes it happens that I am alone (at the clinic) so I have to manage everything. I have to do everything to bring joy to the mother.”

St Denis is owned by the Roman Catholic Church and as part of the Christian Health Association (CHAL) it receives funding from the government and has been for the past 10 years.

The CHAL spokesperson, Lebohang Liphapang, said some facilities were experiencing serious shortages of medications.

Liphapang said this has been going on for the past four years.

“The budget does not account for inflation,” Liphapang said.

She said while the prices of medication have increased, this has reduced the quantity of medications they receive from suppliers.

“Therefore, this leads to shortages of medication at our facilities,” she said.

Liphapang said the Ministry of Health gives them money in batches.

She said the operational budget has been separated from the salary budget.

She further said they are given money monthly to run the facilities.

Liphapang said the inconsistency by the government to allocate funds has further worsened the situation.

She said normally they receive the operational budget at the beginning of every quarter.

However, they are now receiving the budget at the end of the quarter.

“Sometimes the money delays,’’ she said.

“Therefore, this leads to facilities being unable to buy medications on time.”

She said their hands are tied by the agreement they have with the government to offer services at the same prices as government-owned facilities.

“Otherwise our facilities can be private,” she said.

The Health Ministry’s public relations manager, ’Mamolise Falatsa, could not be reached for comment last night.

Health Minister Selibe Mochoboroane earlier this year said the government was still committed to its agreement with the CHAL of paying subventions to the facilities every year.

The government website says Mochoboroane had a fruitful meeting with CHAL ahead of this year’s budget presentation in parliament.

The meeting followed CHAL’s calls for help after the government’s failure to adhere to the agreement for years.

In the agreement, the government pays 80 percent of the costs while CHAL health facilities pay 20 percent.

Mochoboroane also promised that there would be an adjustment on subventions every year in order to address CHAL’s costs.

The subvention is meant to pay officials at CHAL’s health centres, as well as buying medical supplies and day-to-day running of facilities.

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