Fort Portal hospital picks lessons from Kabale on maternal health

Interest. Board members of Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital on Wednesday. PHOTO BY ROBERT MUHEREZA

What you need to know:

  • She said it takes less than five minutes for a pregnant mother to be examined by the midwives because they are always on standby.
  • The principal nursing officer at Kabale referral hospital, Sr Christine Akurut, said the good results are as a result of availability of equipment, drugs and committed health workers.

Kabale. The administrators at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital have visited Kabale Regional Referral Hospital in a bid to acquire knowledge on how to deal with high maternal mortality rate.

The director of Fort Portal hospital, Dr Florence Tugumisirize, and the hospital board chairperson, Mr Baguma Kahwa Apuuli, said on Wednesday that the maternal mortality ratio at the facility is very high.

Dr Tugumisirize said from between July and December last year, 24 mothers died during labour at the hospital.
“We opted to benchmark at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital because it has registered no maternal mortality case during the same period and yet we have similar working conditions for staff and similar equipment,” she said.

Experiences
“We have learnt that Kabale hospital has a waiting area for admitting high risk pregnant mothers that are in labour where they are closely monitored by the health workers [which is not at Fort Portal hospital]. At Fort Portal referral hospital, we get the mothers referred from rural health units when they are in critical condition. And this is the reason why about 80 per cent of the referred mothers in labour pain from rural health units die shortly after being admitted to our facility,” Dr Tugumisirize added.

She added that they also discovered that Kabale hospital collaborates with the district health office when sensitising expectant mothers on regular antenatal care.
Dr Tugumisirize revealed that the Fort Portal facility receives between 15 and 20 referral cases of mothers in labour pain per day, of whom about 10 deliver through C-section per day.

They deliver about 10,000 women per year, she said. The hospital serves a population of about 2.5 million people from the districts of Kabarole, Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa, Ntoroko, Bundibugyo, Kasese, Kamwenge and Bunyangabu.
Ms Loyce Biira Bwambale, the Fort Portal hospital board vice chairperson, said Kabale hospital is good at record keeping and has a strategic health service delivery plan that is implemented to achieve excellent health services.

Committed staff
“We have observed that Kabale referral hospital has committed health workers despite the meagre salaries they earn per month. There is evidence of team work between the administrators and the health workers and even with the district health office.

The excellent health service delivery exhibited at Kabale hospital should be emulated by all regional hospitals,” Ms Bwambale said.
She urged the Ministry Of Health to facilitate exchange visits of health workers as a way of improving health service delivery.

What kabale hospital officials say

The director of Kabale hospital, Dr Sophie Namasopo, attributed the reduced maternal deaths to good working relationship among health workers and district officials.
“Creating a ward for waiting mothers has helped us to closely monitor those that are at high risk for timely health service. Committed health workers and our slogan of ‘Avoid any death of a mother that is avoidable’ have also helped us to save mothers,” Dr Namasopo said.

She said it takes less than five minutes for a pregnant mother to be examined by the midwives because they are always on standby.
The principal nursing officer at Kabale referral hospital, Sr Christine Akurut, said the good results are as a result of availability of equipment, drugs and committed health workers.