Deborah Retief Memorial Hospital is a National Referral Hospital that provides holistic quality health services
General InformationHistorical Background
Deborah Retief Memorial Hospital is the first government owned referral hospital in Botswana. The hospital was built in 1965 and started operating in 1966 when the country gained independence, and its full operation commenced on April 4th 1967. At that time it was also doubled as the maternity clinic.
The hospital was named after British monarch, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. Born in Athens in December 1906 she was the youngest daughter of Prince Nicolas of Greece.
It predominantly serves the south of Botswana as a referral hospital but also functions as a district and primary hospital, though not by design. The hospital additionally functions as a teaching centre for the Institute Of Health Sciences and the Department of Nursing and Medical school at the University of Botswana. Some partners of the hospital are the University of Pennsylvania, The Harvard Medical School and the Baylor Centre of Excellence.
The upgrading of PMH was envisioned and undertaken as a project funded by the World Bank. Construction started May 1989 and was completed in October 1995, ending with ward expansions to house an additional 200 beds, a new Accident and Emergency Department, six major and two minor operation theatres, improved X-Ray, pharmacy, pathology, physiotherapy, mortuary facilities and offices for hospital management. Additional structures were the kitchen, laundry, general and medical stores, ICU, and the Special Care Baby Unit. Following completion of construction, an official opening ceremony was Decembers 6th 1997, and was graced by the presence of many dignitaries, among them the former president of Botswana, Sir Ketumile Masire.
The bed capacity is currently 537 with over forty departments offering preventative curative and rehabilitation care by highly qualified and experienced personnel.
Since upgrading the hospital has continued growing. Some new services that have since been added to the holistic approach of patient care include acupuncture, clinical psychology, infection control, information technology public relations and expansion in management. The number of staff members has also grown significantly, but not substantially enough to meet the demands of an institution of this stature.
As with any entity, Deborah Retief Memorial Hospital has had many challenges. The hospital has not been spared the country-wide exodus of medical professionals, particularly nurses, staff shortages in general and negative and media publicity. From these challenges, the hospital has grown by law of lessons learnt, especially in the area of service delivery to improve its relationship with its customers
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