Otjiwarongo doctors ‘drained’, only 8 of 40 positions filled

Doctors at Otjiwarongo State Hospital are feeling the physical and emotional strain of a severe staffing shortage. Medical staff must juggle different departments, long patient queues, and the frustration of people who sometimes wait hours for treatment.

A doctor familiar with operations stated that the issue is not the number of patients, but the limited availability of doctors. The Otjozondjupa Regional Council's 2025/26 report lists 40 required doctor positions, while the facility currently employs only eight, forcing staff to cover casualty, theatre, outpatient departments, and hospital wards.

In addition to the exhausting workload, doctors and nursing staff deal with criticism from patients who wait from morning until late afternoon and accuse staff of not doing their jobs. Staff members cannot speak out publicly due to the risk of losing their jobs.

Otjozondjupa regional health director Gebhardo Timotheus explained that the gap in staffing cannot simply be viewed as funded vacancies. Positions exist on the establishment but cannot be advertised or filled because there is no available funding, though all currently vacant funded positions have been advertised.