Ntsoaki Motaung
The Minister of Health Selibe Mochoboroane has revealed that the Maseru District Hospital will harness the power of the latest medical technology to conduct teleconsultation with foreign hospitals to enhance its work.
Sometimes referred to as remote consultation or telehealth, teleconsultation refers to interactions that happen between a clinician and a patient to provide diagnostic or therapeutic advice through electronic means.
The state-of-the-art hospital, which is a government of China donation to Lesotho, is situated on the old site of the demolished Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, itself a donation from Britain.
The 200-bed hospital is expected to be a modern facility operating as the second referral hospital after Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH), relieving the latter of its ever-increasing patient load.
The hospital, which is estimated to have cost China over M800 million to construct, is expected to be completed by the end of March this year, according to Mochoboroane.
In an exclusive interview with Newsday, Mochoboroane said Maseru District Hospital has a telemedicine feature to help skilled doctors from other partnering countries to communicate to doctors in the country while performing a procedure together.
“I believe that, in the end of it all, we will build the health system that many people will faith in because it provides the needed services. We have to stop enduring the embarrassment that comes with our people dying in SA being prominent people as well as ordinary citizens,” he said.
He said the hospital will also be twinned with partnering Chinese hospitals for Basotho doctors to work hand in hand with Chinese doctors. He said the aim is to equip Basotho doctors to ensure that the facility works effectively.
“Apart from that, Basotho doctors will be send to China for training as well,” he said.
The beginning of the hospital construction was officiated by former Prime Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro in 2021.
Dr Majoro indicated that the construction is expected to cost M800 million. He said the facility would provide improved health services mainly the treatment of both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
“The new M800 million hospital will be a modern facility that intends to provide improved health services to the residents of Maseru and other districts,” Dr Majoro said.
“In particular; it will provide services including eye care, cancer treatment, tuberculosis, HIV and non-communicable diseases.
The hospital, featuring state-of-the-art medical equipment, will also have training facilities and dormitories for trainee doctors and nurses, he said.
Once completed, current employees of the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, currently operating from the Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO), will be absorbed as employees of this hospital. They will be complemented by the Chinese Medical Team which is currently based at the Motebang Hospital in Leribe,” Dr Majoro said.
