Kayunga hospital to host Covid-19 treatment centre

Kayunga District is set to get a regional Covid-19 treatment centre to ease access to treatment of the pandemic, health officials have revealed.

The treatment centre will be set up at Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital.

Dr Olive Busingye Kacukus, the Kayunga District deputy health officer, said on Monday, officials from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Ministry of Health held a meeting and inspected the facility to ascertain its readiness to handle and treat Covid-19 patients.

“During the meeting it was resolved that a treatment centre at the facility be established to treat Covid-19 patients, which she [Dr Diana Atwine, the Health Ministry Permanent Secretary] said would enable those from the region to access services without having to go to Mulago National Referral Hospital,” she said in an interview on Tuesday.

She added: “We recently made an outcry to the Ministry of Health to support us through provision of training of medical personnel, medical equipment and others because we currently lack capacity to treat Covid-19 patients.”

Ms Martha Ayikoru, the Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital senior administrator, said the facility has ample space with 107 beds and they are ready to treat the Covid-19 patients if they are supported.

“We lack oxygen and protective gear, but if we are supported, we will overcome that and save more lives,” she said.

Ms Ayikoru, noted that they have five Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms.

By Tuesday, a total of seven deaths had been registered due to Covid-19 in the district and 90 had recovered.

Meanwhile, patients at Kalisizo Hospital in Kyotera District have reportedly shunned the facility after 13 health workers tested positive for Covid-19.

On Tuesday when Daily Monitor visited the hospital, about five people would come to the out-patients department to receive medication per hour compared to about 30 patients per hour previously. 

“We have been receiving overwhelming numbers of expectant mothers, but they have currently dropped by almost 50 per cent. We are worried that they may resort to using traditional birth attendants,” a midwife, who preferred anonymity, said.

Dr Emmanuel Ssekyeru, the hospital medical superintendent, dismissed the allegations of patients shunning the hospital.

“It is true we have 13 health workers who tested positive for Covid-19. They are under self-isolation and we are monitoring them closely. The decrease in the number of patients at the hospital is due to restricted movements,” he said.

He, however, called for more support from the Ministry of Health in delivering more equipment for the health workers handling Covid-19 patients.