Patients stranded after closure of Masaka Hospital X- ray section

MASAKA. Patients seeking X-ray services at Masaka regional referral hospital are stranded following the closure of the x-ray section by the Uganda Atomic Energy Council (AEC-Uganda).
AEC-Uganda is a government body mandated to regulate the peaceful application of ionizing radiation, protection and safety of radioactive sources.
The council officials closed the X-ray section for operating in disregard of safety precautions affecting operations of the scan and radiography units.
A closure notice issued by AEC indicates that the section was closed over leakage of radiation which exposes the personnel operating the device to high levels of radiation which can lead to cancer.
Some of the effects of radiation according to medical experts include; burns, nausea, loss of hair, vomiting and even death in extreme cases, depending on the quantity of dosage that one is exposed to.
The hospital’s director, Dr Nathan Onyachi while addressing a team of lawmakers, led by Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda (Kira Municipality MP) who is also the opposition chief whip during their visit to the facility on Tuesday, said the X-ray section has been closed for weeks which has greatly affected health service delivery.
Dr Onyachi explained that some medical procedures and diagnosis cannot be undertaken at the main hospital which prompts them to send patients to private health units in Masaka Town.
"Incidentally, we even get patients coming from the town and they are referred here because they are not able to pay for the private service in town and we are prompted to send them back because our x-ray services are temporally unavailable.” he said.
Records at Masaka hospital indicate that the facility receives more than 80 patients on a daily basis that require x-ray services.
Dr Onyachi however said that the hospital biomedical engineer is fixing the problem and is optimistic that it will be addressed soon.
“This problem is going to be fixed soon, we expect that the AEC-Uganda team is going to inspect the unit soon so that we can be cleared to reopen so that we resume offering x-ray services to our patients” he said.
Maska hospital which was simply a treatment centre for syphilis was elevated to a referral status in 1995 to offer services to the greater southern region districts. These include Masaka, Rakai, Lyantonde, Lwengo, Sembabule, Bukomansimbi, Kalungu and Kalangala.
The hospital management has, however, been grappling with a number of challenges ranging from lack of space to accommodate the overwhelming numbers of patients, inadequate drugs and irregular power supply.
Being on the busy Mombasa-Kampala, Mbarara-Kigali highway, the hospital is the first point of call for a number of patients including accident victims. The facility’s average daily contact with patients stands at about 2,000.