Gulu hospital ICU machines lie idle
The Gulu Regional Referral Hospital director, Dr Nathan Onyachi (L), inspects ICU machines donated to the facility in 2013 by the US government. PHOTO BY CISSY MAKUMBI
GULU-Assorted Intensive Care Units (ICU) equipment worth millions of shillings is lying idle at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital due to space shortage.
Some of the equipment is a donation from US mission and Northern Uganda Health Integration to Enhance Service, a USAID funded initiative.
However, several years later, the equipment has never been put to use.
The hospital principle administrator, Mr Muhamad Mubiru, recently said: “Weekly, the facility receives two patients that need ICU services, but we cannot do much apart from referring them to other facilities that have ICU provisions.”
Mr Nathan Onyachi, the hospital director, said the facility is constrained due to shortage of funds.
Gulu hospital spends a total of Shs1.3 billion annually.
Gulu assistant health officer in-charge of child and maternal health care, Ms Rose Okilangole, appealed to the Ministry of Health to increase its funding to enable the establishment of a modern ICU facility at the hospital.
