Congestion at Mulago: Sick babies share beds

Kampala

The big number of children admitted to Mulago National Referral Hospital has overwhelmed the facilities, medical staff have said. The children’s ward receives a high number of patients, forcing the medics to put two patients on each bed.

Prof. Sarah Kiguli, the head of the Pediatrics Department, said the congestion is due to lack of expansion of the hospital infrastructure. “There are some days when we are forced to allow more than two babies to share a bed which is so dangerous since it facilitates spread of diseases from one child to another,” Prof. Kiguli said, while receiving sundries and food stuff from members of the Indian Association of Uganda.

The group donated food stuffs worth Shs5 million and pledged to continue supporting the children.
Prof. Kiguli attributed the increased sicknesses among infants to lack of sensitisation among parents on how to care and feed them. She said they admit six to seven children on a daily basis and do not have a recommended number of admissions. “The ward has more than 90 children admitted yet the beds are very few,” she said.

According to Ms Naome Nakalala, a nurse at the ward, the congestion has led to work overload. Ms Nakalala said they do not only have the duty of treating the child patients, but they also have another duty of counselling their parents. “Some parents show up when they have a number of social issues with no hope that their little ones will recover which makes them so depressed,” she said.

One of the mothers, Ms Allen Natume, said they are very worried about their children’s health.
“The few beds that are around are broken with old mattresses. Our children’s health is at risk since the young ones are forced to share,” Ms Natume said.

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