A six-month Ombudsman probe has revealed critical flaws in the national health system, including understaffing, excessive spending, inhumane conditions, and systemic failures that threaten patient care nationwide
BONGANI MALUNGA
A six-month long investigation conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman has exposed serious and troubling gaps within the national health system. The findings reveal widespread inhumane conditions in medical facilities, chronic understaffing and excessive spending, alongside persistent maladministration.
The report further highlights systemic failures that continue to undermine the delivery of essential healthcare services, raising urgent questions about oversight, accountability and the overall capacity of the health sector to meet the needs of the population.
These revelations paint a stark picture of a healthcare system struggling under pressure, where operational inefficiencies and mismanagement have tangible consequences for patients. In a press briefing on Tuesday, the Ombudsman, Stephen Tiroyakgosi warned that without immediate corrective action, these systemic issues could escalate, compromising patient safety, eroding public trust and jeopardizing the nation’s broader health outcomes.
FINDINGS
Tiroyakgosi highlighted that the government’s outdated ambulances require constant repairs, which significantly increase public spending. He further pointed out that laboratories do not meet the mandated safety, maintenance and quality standards.
“Our investigation also found persistent and critical shortages of medicines and non-drug commodities across public health facilities despite the Central Medical Stores (CMS) reporting availability levels at times of 97 percent for vital, essential and necessary items. Facilities that we interviewed noted that CMS was only able to supply between 25 and 30 percent of items ordered. Data from the two referral hospitals showed availability well below acceptable thresholds and lower availability of non-drug supplies,” the Ombudsman revealed.
EXPENDITURE
Tiroyakgosi further highlighted the need for the national health sector to smarten up in terms of its expenditure. According to the Ombudsman, P283 million was spent on training specialists from 2021 to 2025 with a bulk of the trained workforce subsequently leaving for better opportunities.
The Ombudsman disclosed that in the current financial year, 809 patients were referred to six private hospitals, costing the government a staggering P300 million, equivalent to P6 million every week, on outsourced medical care.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To counter the aforementioned problems, Tiroyakgosi noted that the Office of the Ombudsman has made 36 key recommendations. Chief among them is the need to expedite the appointment of healthcare workers across the nation with an accelerated recruitment drive aimed at filling voids left by departed staff and supplementing understaffed areas.
FUNDS
“The Ministry of Health should prioritize and redirect funds currently spent on referring patients to private healthcare facilities towards employing specialist medical personnel within the public health system and invest in in-house expertise with a view to reducing costly external referrals and to improve timely access to specialized care and build sustainable capacity in the public health sector,” Tiroyakgosi recommended.