Maseru, Sept. 10 — The Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) is currently faced with a shortage of hospital beds.
This shortage is severely disrupting daily operations, particularly in the examination rooms, where nurses and doctors are struggling to examine patients.
Outpatients are experiencing significant delays, with nurses resorting to finding beds only when other patients are discharged from the wards sometimes at unconventional hours.
Thabang Mohlakola, a concerned parent, spoke about the challenges after rushing to QMMH when her child ingested paraffin. Despite arriving early in the morning, he is still waiting for treatment, as nurses are desperately searching for available beds.
Another patient, Keletso Morie, shared her ordeal. After giving birth prematurely on August 02, she was discharged on August 23 while her baby remained under medical care.
Keletso stated that since her discharge, she was not allowed access to hospital facilities such as food or a bed and was forced to wait in the reception area, sleeping on chairs. Her baby was finally discharged at midnight on September 08, but they had to remain at the hospital until morning.
QMMH Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Thakane Mapeshoane, confirmed that the hospital is operating at full capacity, leading to the bed shortage and as a temporary measure, QMMH has started utilising private wards to provide high-level care to stable yet critical patients, particularly those transitioning out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
This bed crisis is causing widespread frustration and affecting the quality of patient care at QMMH.
