Fort Portal hospital decongests wards
Banned. A congested patient’s ward at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital on November 28. PHOTO BY ALEX ASHABA
What you need to know:
- Fort portal regional hospital serves nine districts in Rwenzori Sub-region including Kabarole, Kamwenge, Bundibugyo, Kasese, Ntoroko, Bunyangabu, Kitagwenda, Kyenjojo, and Kyegegwa, and some of the patients come from DR Congo.
Authorities at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital have created space in wards by suspending patient attendants.
They have asked the patients to remain with only one attendant to avoid the further spread of coronavirus.
The health facility has been too congested, leaving the health workers with no space to attend to patients.
Mr Louis Muhindo, the hospital administrator, said they suspended the patient attendants following the presidential directive of social distancing.
“We are doing this for the good of our people and the health facility. We cannot continue with patients and their families in the hospital. We want one patient with one attendant, and have the recommended space of four metres from one patient to another,” Mr Muhindo said.
Mr Muhindo said most times the facility has more than 300 in-patients who come with more than three attendants each.
“You find on a daily basis the facility is congested with more than 1,500 people including staff, patients and attendants. It makes it difficult for health workers to administer drugs to patients,” Mr Muhindo said.
Mr Muhindo said the regional hospital is alert and checks any suspected cases of coronavirus. The hospital takes samples from patients to Kampala for checkups.
He said they had put hand washing facilities at all entry points of the health facility.
By Wednesday, Uganda had 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
The hospital
Fort portal regional hospital serves nine districts in Rwenzori Sub-region including Kabarole, Kamwenge, Bundibugyo, Kasese, Ntoroko, Bunyangabu, Kitagwenda, Kyenjojo, and Kyegegwa, and some of the patients come from DR Congo.
