Mulago accounts for 30 % of Covid-19 deaths countrywide
A Covid-19 burial team carries a body of Covid-19 victim to the grave in Busoga Sub-region recently. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Mulago runs the biggest Covid-19 treatment unit, but the facility has been dogged by challenges including shortage of space/beds, critical medicines, specialists as well as low oxygen supplies.
Mulago National Referral Hospital has lost a total of 921 Covid patients since the onset of the pandemic 18 months ago.
This number makes up to 30 per cent of the total deaths registered since the first death in July 2020.
This revelation was made by the hospital director, Dr Byarugaba Baterena, during the inauguration of the new hospital board in Kampala on Friday.
“As of yesterday [Thursday] or the other day [Wednesday], the cumulative admission has been 4,288. We have 24 active case and we have discharged 3,343, but unfortunately, God has taken away 921 through Mulago Hospital,” he said.
This means that 77 per cent of those admitted recovered from the disease. Uganda has, as of September 1, registered 120,337 cumulative cases and 3,038 of these have died, while 95,565 have recovered. Active cases on admission stand at 438.
Mulago runs the biggest Covid-19 treatment unit, but the facility has been dogged by challenges including shortage of space/beds, critical medicines, specialists as well as low oxygen supplies. At the peak of the second wave of the Pandemic in June, reports circulated that at least 30 people had died in one night at the hospital due to malfunction in oxygen supply.
Dr Rosemary Byanyima, the Mulago Hospital deputy director, however, dismissed claims that the deaths could have been due to lack of care or an overstretched facility, but rather the high number of patients at the facility due to its national referral status.
“Because of being the national hospital, we get the worst cases. Those who progress to severe and critical disease will be evacuated to Mulago. ..the fact that we were able to discharge so many is a good sign,” she said.
“Note that [oxygen shortage] was not a big factor, we are able to administer higher doses than other lower units and that is one of the reasons patients would be referred,” Dr Byanyima added.
Dr Byanyima also attributed some deaths to late presentation to the facility by those affected to seek care, “that is some of the reasons people would just collapse”. She said there are five oxygen plants that are reinforced by supplies from the UPDF and 250 staff dedicated to Covid management..
