Army hospital keeps drugs on floor

Brig Innocent Oula(2nd R), Edwin Muhumuza, executive officer of YGG (3rd R) and UPDF officers plant a tree on a road reserve in Bombo. The officers planted trees before the commissioning of a TB ward last week. PHOTO BY Joseph Kato

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Health. Bombo hospital TB patients share wards with non-TB patients.

LUWERO. Bombo Military Hospital (BMH) has resorted to keeping drugs on the floor due to lack of proper storage facilities.
Lt Col Norbert Kabugo, the acting director of BMH, said at the commissioning of Tuberculosis (TB) ward and pharmacy at the weekend that drugs kept in such conditions get spoiled fast and are harmful to humans. He also disclosed that TB patients had been sharing wards with other patients putting the life of patients without TB at risk of getting infected. Lt Col Kabugo said the hospital gets TB patients from more than 10 districts, including Nakasongola, Kiryandongo, Masindi, Nakaseke, Wakiso, Mpigi, Luweero, Mukono and Kiboga.
“We are happy that we finally got the TB ward and pharmacy. Although the space is not enough, we feel somehow relieved because some of our drugs won’t get spoiled anymore.
“The risk of other patients being infected with TB will reduce with effect from today [last Friday],” Mr Kabugo said.
Maj Gen Wilson Mbadi, the joint chief of staff, commended the government for allocating Shs1.6 trillion to the defence sector, saying people criticising the move did not know the cardinal roles of security agencies.
Mr Dan Kimosho, the spokesperson of National Medical Stores (NMS), revealed that they used more than Shs55m in setting up the pharmacy as a way of giving back to UPDF as their longtime partner. He said the continuous decline of Uganda shilling against the dollar was challenging NMS since their suppliers are paid in dollars.
“The fluctuation of the dollar makes us buy few drugs for the hospitals. The dollar is hiking whereas the budget is static.
“We, therefore, appeal to ministry of Finance, to top up the money we lose in dollar exchanges,” Mr Kimosho said.
Meanwhile, UPDF soldiers have launched an environment protection partnership with Youth Go Green (YGG) organisation in a bid to plant 10 million trees on road reserves across Uganda in the next five years.
Brig Innocent Oula, who represented the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Katumba Wamala, said they had partnered with YGG to save the environment that is under threat due to unplanned human activities such as agriculture, wetland degradation and construction.
Mr Edwin Muhumuza, the YGG executive officer, said they had so far planted 2.6 million trees since 2012 in different parts of the country, including Mbarara, Mbale, Mukono, Kabarole and Entebbe.