Sbrana Psychiatric Hospital is Botswana’s only national referral psychiatric hospital, located in Lobatse in the South-East District, about 70 km south of Gaborone.

Overview

• Location: Lobatse, Botswana
• Type: Public national referral psychiatric hospital
• Under: Botswana Ministry of Health & Wellness
• Bed capacity: ~300 beds
• Opened: 2010 (upgraded from the former Lobatse Mental Hospital)

What it does

Sbrana is the country’s highest-level mental health facility, meaning it handles the most serious psychiatric cases referred from across Botswana:

• Severe depression and psychosis
• Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
• Acute psychiatric emergencies
• Forensic psychiatric cases (offenders with mental illness)
• Substance use disorder treatment (inpatient programs)
• Long-term psychiatric rehabilitation

Structure and wards

The hospital is divided into specialized units such as:

• Acute male and female wards
• Child and adolescent psychiatry unit
• Forensic ward
• Rehabilitation ward
• Geriatric (elderly) psychiatric care
• Observation and assessment units

Training role

Sbrana is also a teaching hospital, working with:

• Medical students
• Nurses and psychiatric trainees
• Psychologists and social workers
  It is affiliated with health training institutions in Botswana.

Its role in Botswana’s health system

Think of Botswana’s mental health system like a pyramid:

• Clinics & health posts → basic mental health screening
• District hospitals → intermediate care
• Sbrana → top referral centre for all psychiatric cases nationwide

It is essentially the final referral point for mental health care in the public system.