Mathatisi Sebusi/Mohloai Mpesi
THE suspended Head of the Eye Department at Maseru District Hospital, Dr Wenjun Fan (PhD), says he is one of only two ophthalmologists in Lesotho.
His suspension – he notes – has thus raised concerns that Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) — where the country’s only other eye specialist is stationed — will now face an overwhelming influx of patients in need of specialized eye care.
Dr Fan, of Chinese origin, began working in Lesotho in 2012 as an eye specialist at QMMH. In 2016, he transferred to Queen II Hospital, now Maseru District Hospital, where he has since headed the Eye Department.
He was suspended this week for allegedly leaking “confidential” hospital information to the media.
In an interview with the Lesotho Times, Dr Fan said while he accepted the suspension and intended to consult his lawyer on the next steps, he was deeply concerned about the impact his absence would have on patients.
“There are only two eye specialists in the country — one is me, and the other is at Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital,” Dr Fan said.
“It’s fine suspending me, but who will attend to the eye patients at Maseru District Hospital?”
He explained that the nurses currently conducting consultations do not have the capacity to independently diagnose patients and need a specialist to supervise them.
“The nurses have challenges examining the back of the eye. They have always depended on my assistance. If mistakes happen and patients are misdiagnosed, who will take responsibility?” he asked.
The road to suspension
Before his suspension, Dr Fan had been served with a show-cause letter on 15 October 2025 by Medical Superintendent, Dr ‘Mabatho Masupha, accusing him of several acts of misconduct, including failure to conduct a medical review and displaying unprofessional behaviour towards management.
According to the letter, on or around 23 September 2025, Dr Fan allegedly failed to conduct a medical review for a five-year-old girl admitted to the surgical ward.
On 12 September 2025, he allegedly threatened the hospital management team during a meeting, saying he would report them to the Chinese government to influence the withdrawal of funding.
He was also accused of posting inappropriate remarks about the medical superintendent in a WhatsApp group on 10 September 2025, allegedly compromising her authority.
In addition, he allegedly reduced the number of patients seen daily in the Eye Department to 40 without consulting his supervisor and booked a child for surgery without ensuring the patient’s admission to the surgical ward.
Dr Fan’s response
In his written response, Dr Fan categorically denied all the allegations, beginning with the claim regarding the 23 September incident.
“According to the Head of Department (HOD) meeting held on 8 July 2025, doctors requesting medical reviews must call or send a request form to the reviewing doctor. I checked the surgical ward files for that date — there is no record of a five-year-old female patient, and I never received a call or request form,” he said.
He also denied attending the alleged 12 September management meeting.
“I am not part of the management team of Maseru District Hospital, so I could not have attended that meeting. I request the minutes for verification. If the alleged threat happened outside a formal meeting, I do not understand why it should be treated as an official matter.”
Regarding the WhatsApp group allegations, Dr Fan said he merely raised concerns that had already been discussed in HOD meetings.
“Management failed to act on repeated challenges, and the superintendent had not attended meetings for over six months. I posted in the WhatsApp group to ensure the issues reached a wider audience. I also shared proper communication procedures there.”
Addressing the claim about limiting patient numbers, Dr Fan said records would show that more than 60 patients were seen daily since 4 September 2025.
“As the only consultant in the Eye Department, I can manage 30 to 40 patients alone. With the support of two ophthalmic nurses, we can see 80 to 100 patients per day. However, management ordered the nurses not to assist me, making it impossible for me to handle the same workload,” he explained.
He added that persistent management issues had disrupted teamwork in the department, forcing him to limit the number of patients to maintain quality care.
As for the surgical case, Dr Fan explained:
“I booked a child for squint surgery and tried to admit her to the paediatric ward, as required for patients under 12, but the ward refused. I informed the mother there was nowhere to admit the child.
“Later, the superintendent instructed me to admit her to the surgical ward, which I did, and the operation was completed successfully without complications.”
