Health services suffer as hospital face-lift kicks off

Health services at Kayunga Hospital have deteriorated after authorities moved a number of services to makeshift structures to allow renovation of the facility.
According to Dr Francis Kakooza, the hospital medical superintendent, services have temporarily been shifted near Kayunga Town Council offices for easy access.
The services include; outpatient department, paediatric ward, HIV/Aids testing and counselling and Tuberculosis treatment.
Tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment is carried out in a small tent.
Kayunga community centre now houses the paediatric ward.
A nurse, who talked to this reporter on condition of anonymity, on Sunday said they have only 14 beds in the paediatric ward.
“We are operating in difficult conditions, but we are determined to save the lives of our people,” she said.
“There was a plan to totally close the hospital to pave way for its renovation, but hospital management decided that we shift the services to a makeshift structure so that patients don’t have to dig deep into their pockets to get health services or move long distances up to Kangulumira Health IV to seek treatment,” another medical staff at Kayunga Hospital, who preferred not to be named, said.
Dr Kakooza said they, however, face challenges such as limited space, poor working conditions as well as difficulty in using the medical equipment.
“Currently, patients find a challenge because the health services are now scattered in different health units of Ntenjeru Health Centre IV, Kangulumira Health Centre IV and Bbaale Health Centre IV,” he said.
Dr Kakooza said they would relocate to the newly refurbished health facility in August.
The maternity ward was shifted to Ntenjeru Health Centre IV while the male and female wards were moved to Kangulumira Health Centre IV, which is about 16 and 45 kilometres from Kayunga Town, respectively.
Kayunga Hospital Mortuary Attendant, Mr Moses Kabingo, said they lack a mortuary.
“If the body is brought to the hospital on a police patrol, we carry out the post-mortem when it is still on the patrol van,” he said.

Improvements
The hospital, whose renovation and expansion works are nearing completion, will offer additional services.
These include accident and emergency unit, physiotherapy and gym unit, private out-patient department and wards, kitchen and laundry, isolation wards, maintenance and workshop, hostels for intern doctors and housing quarters for nurses. The facility will have a unit where youth-related health issues are addressed.
The new accident and emergency unit is expected to ease congestion at Kawolo General Hospital as it would be within easy reach for accident victims on the Kampala-Jinja, Kayunga-Mukono and Kayunga-Jinja highways for urgent care.