‘Mantṧali Phakoana
Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) is referring patients to private facilities in Maseru and Bloemfontein, South Africa where they pay exorbitant fees because its only (Computerised tomography) CT scan is not functional, theReporter has learnt.
Besides an acute shortage of life-saving medical equipment, the institution also does not have a qualified and experienced radiologist to operate the scan machine.
The lack of a scan has affected patients with cancer, brain tumor, acute abdominal pain and other terminal illnesses as well as those needing services in certain areas of imaging like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and CT scans, special examinations, computed tomography and mammography.
theReporter has learnt that although the QMMH has a modernised CT scan model with 64 slices, the machine is idle because there is no complementary equipment such as specialised computers to make it work.
Sources said the CT scan was only bought in March this year and started operating in April, but unfortunately it was not being due to this.
The machine needs a highly experienced team of radiologists and radiographers, which the QMMH does not have. The hospital has only one radiographer and no radiologists, they noted.
These two professionals work hand in hand. After a radiographer operates X-ray equipment, a radiologist analyses the scanned images to diagnose and monitor a disease.
The latter also interprets the test results and communicate findings to other health professionals, a source explained.
A radiologist who had started working at the hospital around September last year is said to have resigned in April this year complaining of poor working conditions and lack of benefits.
According to the sources, QMMH does not pay gratuities or any other benefits.
“Most staffers at Tṧepong are not paid gratuities and other benefits so, he (radiologist) went for his examinations in Namibia and decided not to come back,” a source said.
He added that conducting a CT scan was not an easy task and needed a highly qualified and experienced radiologist.
QMMH refers it patients in need of such services to a private facility in Maseru owned by Dr Mirazur Rahman who claims to be the only radiologist in Lesotho. He says he has 25 years working in the country.
Dr Rahman’s facility charges a minimum of M3000 for a CVT scan, which is way more than double of what public hospitals charge. His CT scan has 32 slices.
Other patients are referred to a local private hospital, which charges M4000 for a similar service.
Dr Rahman said the QMMH was among hospitals that refer patients to him and other private facilities because they do not have a fully-equipped scan.
He indicated that although his services were expensive, patients came to him willingly because of his outstanding medical services such CT scan machine and reporting on time after examinations.
“Some patients, especially those who have medical aid, come here to avoid long queues at public hospitals,” he said.
“Also, some doctors consult or refer patients to me when they need second opinion on ultrasounds,” he explained.
Dr Rahman, who said he started offering CT scan services in August 2022, also noted that he receives some patients from QMMH because he offers more services on cases involving brain tumor, cancer of the liver or stomach, and infertility.
He further rubbished allegations that he was working with health officials from QMMH to divert patients to his private facility to line their pockets.
“I am very much transparent in my job. My interest is to assist patients with medical services willingly or upon recommendations from private doctors or QMMH. And I help all patients who need my services,” Dr Rahman said.
Contacted for comment this week, QMMH public relations manager Thakane Mapeshoane said patients were referred to Dr Rahman’s private facility for CT scan because the hospital’s only radiologist resigned in May this year.
He reported that he was attendeding a funeral but never came back, she said.
Mapeshoane maintained that the hospital’s CT scan had always been working until the radiologist left.
She emphasized that it was only after this that the hospital began referring patients to Dr Rahman.
“There has always been CT scanning at Tṧepong. The problem only emerged now after our radiologist resigned and Dr Rahman is the only radiologist in this country,” Mapeshoane noted.
“So, if a patient has to go through CT scan, we recommend they go there for such service until the hospital has hired a new radiologist,”
Some patients told theReporter that they went to QMMH for vital services including CT and ultrasound scans but were told that the machines were dysfunctional.
Khabele Khabele this week said that he took his father who had acute abdominal pain to QMMH in April this year after he was referred by a local private doctor.
The patient was admitted and the next day one doctor prescribed an urgent CT scan for him, pointing to Dr Rahman’s facility where he had to pay M4000. QMMH charges about M300 for this service.
Khabele said health personnel at the hospital told him that their scan was not working.
“I urge the government to intervene and solve this issue of the so-called dysfunctional equipment in public hospitals because not all patients can afford to pay M4000 for such a service,” he pledged.
Khabele added that his suspicion was that the hospital or some of its doctors somehow benefited if a patient went to Dr Rahman’s facility.
He said he observed suspicious behaviour from the hospital staff when they made endless phone calls asking if he had already paid at this particular centre.
“From the experience of lack of compassion from Tṧepong nurses, it was unlike them to constantly contact me with their personal phones to ask if I had already paid. Their persistence and behaviour was suspicious,” he added.
Narrating her ordeal, Mahlapane Lenyeta said in March this year she did an ultrasound scan at another private facility for M1 200 and it was confirmed she had fibroids.
She said she was later transferred to QMMH for an operation because she could not afford surgery costs.
However, she said QMMH referred her to Dr Rahman with comments that they did not trust the scan from the private facility she went.
“I was told the ultrasound scan at Tṧepong was not functioning. I did as I was instructed and did the scan for M600. Within less than two hours I was given my report and went back to the hospital where I waited to be operated on for seven days,” she noted.
The deputy public relations officer for the Coalition of Health Professionals, Mojakisane Ramafikeng, said if public doctors stand to gain financially from treating patients, that can influence their clinical decision-making.
Patients are therefore at risk of receiving treatment which is unnecessary and harmful. Some may even die because they cannot afford expensive services, Ramafikeng noted.
He further indicated it would be unethical for professional doctors to assist patients for their own personal gains.
He also strongly condemned such behaviour as it does not align with the values and code of conduct for doctors. It tarnished their efforts for aspiring to build a better health system in the country by ensuring the lives of both patients and help professionals are cared for.
“But if there are doctors who practice such behavior, it would be advisable that victims of this malicious act report the matter to the Lesotho Medical Dental Pharmacy Association, which oversees the behavioral conduct of doctors,” Ramafikeng advised.
