Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital (SKMTH) is Botswana’s largest specialist referral and teaching hospital, located in Gaborone West, Botswana. It is the country’s flagship academic hospital and the main hub for advanced medical care and training.

Overview

• Location: Gaborone West, Gaborone, Botswana
• Type: Public tertiary teaching and referral hospital
• Affiliation: University of Botswana (Faculty of Health Sciences)
• Role: National specialist referral hospital
• Opened: 2014 (fully commissioned in phases)
• Capacity: ~450+ beds (varies by operational phase and expansion)

Why it is important

SKMTH is Botswana’s top clinical training and specialist hospital, designed to:

• Train doctors, specialists, interns, and nurses
• Provide advanced tertiary healthcare
• Reduce dependence on overseas referrals
• Support medical research and academic programs in Botswana

It is effectively Botswana’s “central teaching hospital” for the southern region.

Major services

SKMTH provides highly specialised care, including:

• Neurosurgery and neurology
• Cardiology and cardiac care
• Advanced respiratory medicine
• Orthopedic and trauma surgery
• Oncology (cancer treatment services)
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
• Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU)
• Advanced diagnostics (MRI, CT scan, interventional radiology)
• Specialist outpatient clinics (multi-disciplinary care)

Role in Botswana’s health system

SKMTH sits at the very top of the national referral pyramid:

• Clinics & Health Posts → Primary Hospitals → District Hospitals → Referral Hospitals (e.g. Nyangabgwe, Athlone) → SKMTH

It handles:

• Complex surgical cases
• Advanced diagnostics
• Specialist referrals from across Botswana
• Cases that cannot be managed at district or regional hospitals

National importance

SKMTH was built to:

• Transform Botswana’s medical training capacity
• Reduce patient transfers to South Africa and other countries
• Serve as a centre of excellence for Southern Africa’s public health system

It works alongside:

• Princess Marina Hospital (older central referral hospital in Gaborone)
• Francistown Academic Hospital (northern teaching hub)

Simple summary

Think of SKMTH as:

Botswana’s main specialist teaching hospital and highest-level referral centre