‘Health failures a national crisis’

. . . women deliver without assistance

. . .  one dies, body found in river

. . . as parliament calls for tougher action

The recent incidents of two expectant mothers giving birth without assistance at Berea Hospital and Mahobong Health Centre are symptoms of a wider crisis of poor health services, Parliament’s Social Cluster Chairperson Mokhothu Makhalanyane has warned.

Makhalanyane says the problem extends beyond the two cases and raises questions about general patient care across Lesotho.

He accused some health professionals of subjecting ordinary Basotho to poor treatment and called on professional regulators to take stronger action against health workers found guilty of misconduct.

“The poor health services issue is a broad challenge in most of our health facilities,” Makhalanyane said in a telephone interview with theReporter this week.

His remarks come after a woman reportedly went into labour and gave birth without assistance at Berea Hospital earlier this month.

The deceased woman, identified as Makubutu Khonkhe of Peka, was reportedly discharged from hospital with her baby before later going missing. Her body was subsequently found in a river weeks later.

Her aunt, ‘Makananelo Khonkhe told authorities that the deceased had complained about the treatment she received at the hospital.

“She told me that what happened to her at the hospital kept replaying in her head as if she was watching a movie,” Makananelo recalled.

She said the family became concerned about the woman’s condition after she returned home, describing headaches, hallucinations and panic attacks before she eventually disappeared.

The family has raised questions about the circumstances surrounding her death. Circumstances leading to it remain subject to police investigations and a post-mortem examination.

In a separate case, a woman reportedly delivered without assistance from maternity staff at Mahobong Health Centre on Saturday.

Makhalanyane said his committee members had experienced problems of patient neglect first-hand during an unannounced visit to Motebang Hospital last year.

He said health workers initially treated committee members poorly because they did not know who they were, only changing their attitude after discovering that they were parliamentarians.

“We experienced it during our recent tour of Motebang Hospital as the committee when we went there unannounced. The workers did not treat us well until they knew who we were. You can imagine what ordinary Basotho go through every day,” he noted.

He added that such treatment was unacceptable, particularly because patients seeking medical assistance were often vulnerable and had few alternatives.

He called on the Lesotho Nursing Council and Lesotho Medical Dental Council, as professional regulatory bodies, to act against health workers who breach professional standards.

The Lesotho Nursing Council is mandated to regulate nurses and midwives, set professional standards and intervene in unacceptable practice while the Lesotho Medical Dental Council regulates the medical profession and protect public health.

Makhalanyane urged Basotho who experience mistreatment at health facilities not to remain silent but to speak out.

“It is clear that patients have endured suffering in the hands of health professionals. They should not fear reporting them by any form of channel so that action is taken,” pointed out.

He said the Social Cluster, which oversees the Ministry of Health, had not yet summoned the ministry over the two cases because it wanted to give officials an opportunity to investigate first.

Public Relations Manager in the Ministry of Health, ‘Mateboho Mosebekoa has confirmed both incidents.

Mosebekoa said investigations into the Mahobong incident have already commenced while two nurses who were on duty at Berea Hospital at the time of the incident have been suspended pending further investigations.

“Investigation into the Mahobong incident has just commenced while for Berea, two nurses have been suspended pending further investigations,” Mosebekoa told this publication.

Makhalanyane said the incidents should serve as a warning that poor treatment of patients cannot be allowed to become normalised in Lesotho’s health system.

His comments also come against a broader history of complaints about professional conduct in the health sector.

A Lesotho Nursing Council report covering 2021 to 2024 identified at least seven maternity-related cases involving poor nursing care and eight nurses, midwives and nursing assistants. The cases included Motebang Hospital and Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital.

The council has previously said the public, patients and their relatives should report suspected professional misconduct so that complaints can be investigated through its disciplinary processes.

For Makhalanyane, however, the issue is not simply about individual nurses or midwives.

He said the recurring complaints point to a need for stronger accountability throughout the health system, including ensuring that regulators respond when patients are neglected or mistreated.

Basotho should not be afraid to report poor treatment because silence could allow unacceptable practices to continue, Makhalanyane noted.

Efforts to get comment from the LNC were unsuccessful as their office phones were unanswered.