Covid-19 testing: Mulago turns away volunteers

More people who are going to designated health facilities for their samples to be taken for Covid-19 tests are facing enormous challenges, with some being sent away without help.
One of the returnees from Bushenyi District, who was referred to Mulago National Referral Hospital for his sample to be taken, said he found himself in a fix in the designated Ward 2A, as no one was there to take his sample.

“I responded to a request from my district healthy officer in Bushenyi to go and test for Covid-19. This is because I came back into the country on March 7 from Nairobi, Kenya,” he said.
“What I saw was terrible. I got to Mulago at 2.30pm on Tuesday. There was no medical officer and they didn’t even have forms to capture the details of the people they were testing,” he said.

He said the entire place lay abandoned except two laboratory personnel who were “clearly overwhelmed.”
“I talked to a few people that were waiting to be tested and they said the medical officials had told them that they had not got any allowances and many were not working because of the risks they were facing,” he added.
The patient said he was told the book for recording patients’ details was not yet in place and so work couldn’t go on.

“I looked around for a doctor, who I managed to convince to have my sample collected. I was lucky, but I am told many people walk a way for lack of attention,” he said.
He said insiders at the facility told him majority of the staff had been instructed to get samples only from important people
However, Dr Byarugaba Baterana, the executive director of Mulago National Referral Hospital, told Daily Monitor yesterday that most people were not following procedures.
“It is not in my knowledge that people are being turned away. However, I cannot deny that concern,” he said.

“You don’t just come to Mulago and say you want to be tested. There are specific people we want to test because the tests are very expensive,” he added.
Dr Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, said people should make appointments before going to Mulago hospital for testing.
“We encourage people to first call [the Ministry of Health helpline] and be given appointments,” she said. The Ministry of Health helpline for people for Covid-19-related concerns include 0800199966 and 0800203033.

Dr Atwine also said government had ordered for more testing kits.
Dr Joyce Moriku, the State minister for Primary Health Care, declined to comment on the issue, referring us to her boss, the Health minister.
Our efforts to reach Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, were futile by press time.

Health workers union speaks out
Allowances. In a media statement on Monday, Mr Aggrey Sanya, the secretary general of Uganda Medical Workers Union, demanded that all health workers should be given risk allowances.
“Cognizant of the special risk to which health workers are particularly exposed, we call upon government to provide risk allowances not only to the Covid-19 taskforce but to all health workers who are at risk of exposure from both confirmed and unconfirmed cases in all health facilities,” he stated.

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