Paray Mission Hospital, a vital healthcare provider in Thaba Tseka, has been forced to suspend critical services due to a crippling shortage of funds.
The hospital, which serves as a referral centre for the entire district, has not received its third-quarter subvention for its operational costs and staff salaries from government, leading to a severe medication shortage.
The subsidy is paid directly to the Christian Health Association of Lesotho (CHAL), which then allocates it to its member hospitals.
Services for non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes have been suspended at Paray Mission Hospital, along with theatre, maternity, and injury services.
Children under five years old are also not receiving the care they need. Expectant mothers who were sheltering at the facility have been released, adding to the distress.
The financial crisis has also taken a toll on hospital staff, who have not received their November salaries.
In an interview with theReporter on Wednesday this week, Paray Mission Hospital public relations officer, Vuyani Dlakavu, said the hospital has not received the third quarter subvention.
“It is heart breaking to see patients turned away without getting services, but we are left with no choice but to do that,” Dlakavu noted.
Paray serves over 4000 people including referrals from 11 clinics in the district.
According to Dlakavu, the subvention is usually received quarterly, but lately, it has been coming monthly. However, the hospital has not received it for three months, forcing them to use their own resources to pay October salaries.
The hospital announced on Sunday last week that Out Patient Department (OPD) services were affected by the crisis.
The centre said it would only provide HIV and TB services, counselling, and antenatal services.
The Portfolio Committee on the Social Cluster this week visited Paray Hospital, Sehonghong Health Centre, and St Theresa Hospital to review their operations and hear their challenges.
Speaking during the committee visit, the hospital’s senior accountant, Thato Lecheba, revealed that they owe M11 947 000 against a monthly government subvention of M2 250 203.
The hospital’s debt comprises M8 710 000 owed to the Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL), M900 000 to a filling station, and M1 157 000 to the National Drug Service Organisation. A total of M840 000 is for severance pay, while M340 000 is for other utilities.
The committee’s chairperson, Mokhothu Makhalanyane, highlighted major challenges faced by health facilities, including the medicine shortage at Paray Hospital and unpaid November salaries for CHAL hospitals’ staff.
Makhalanyane noted that the committee will lobby parliament during the budget allocation to address these challenges.
The committee also discovered that Sehonghong Health Centre had suspended services due to a water crisis. However, the Ministry of Health had temporarily resolved the issue.
Makhalanyane stressed the importance of functional health facilities in the highlands, given the high prevalence of TB, HIV, GBV, early child marriage, and child pregnancy.
“We know that the highlands have high prevalence of the most concerning issues such as TB, HIV, GBV, early child marriage, and child pregnancy. It is important to address but we will not be able to do that when health facilities there are crippled,” he pointed out.
The halt of United States funds for TB and HIV programmes has not directly affected CHAL hospitals, but the lack of government subsidy is causing disruptions to services.
The crisis has also affected other CHAL hospitals, including Seboche Hospital in Butha Buthe and St Joseph’s Hospital in Roma, where staff have gone on strike over unpaid November salaries.
The prevailing situation is despite the addendum of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between CHAL and the government on Friday last week.
The extension, which is expected to be functional until March next year, entails restoring all health services while payments are being made. However, the situation has still not normalised.
The District Administrator (DA) for Thaba Tseka, Tlali Mphafi, said health facilities in the district were facing a critical shortage of resources.
Mphafi urged the Ministry of Health to decentralise key services to district level, allowing for more effective management and delivery.
“Thaba Tseka may be seen as a non-performing district, especially in campaigns like taking vaccines to communities, because we’re given vehicles that can’t reach remote areas, and drivers who aren’t experienced to navigate these roads,” he pointed out in an interview with theReporter this week.
He indicated that decentralising operations would enable the district to respond more effectively to local needs and challenges and ensure they receive resources they need.
He added that it was difficult to fight the district’s high rates of stunting, early child marriage, and pregnancy. “What do we do about that? How do we ensure we address this if services aren’t taken to communities?” he quipped.
Mphafi commended the Social Cluster committee for visiting Thaba Tseka to hear from affected communities and gather insights on health facility operations and challenges, saying this would inform budget allocation decisions.
Effort to get comment from the Ministry of Health was unsuccessful.
