Tororo Neonatal unit gets sh159m medical equipment

The Neonatal unit at Tororo general hospital has received an assortment of medical equipment worth millions of shillings to improve service delivery and reduce the high rate of neonatal mortality.

The equipment worth sh159 million included the renovation of the facility, provision of a standby automatic generator, Infant warmers, baby cots, oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, phototherapy machine, refrigerators and trolley where donated by Plan International through financial support from the government of Canada.

Denis Odwee, Plan International, Tororo area manager, said the equipment is aimed at improving service delivery at the health facility and reducing the neonatal mortality rate in the region.

A nurse standing next to infant warmers at the neonatal unit. (Photo by Faustine Odeke)

Odwee said Plan International is a child-centred organization, decided to extend a lending hand due to the increasing level of neonatal deaths in the district and the country at large where 20 children are lost per 1000 births.

He said they are also going to train the nurses and the midwives with all the necessary skills on machine handling to avoid damages and misuse.

Sister Connie Bwire, the assistant district health officer in charge of maternal and neonatal health, expressed happiness over the donations saying it's going a long way in saving lives, costs and time wasted during the referral of the children with difficulty to Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.

Bwire said they register close to 30 neonatal deaths in the district every month, and most of them occur during transit to the referral hospital for further management. She appealed to the hospital administration to look out for people with the passion to handle the machines and monitor the trend of case management.

Tororo hospital staff receiving a standby automatic generator to serve the maternity ward. It was donated by Plan International. (Photo by Faustine Odeke)

The senior assistant chief administrative officer in charge of health, Sabano Samali Epiat equated Plan International to a snail which always leaves a mark wherever it passes.

Speaking out of experience after her sister lost two children at birth at Tororo Hospital, Sabano is optimistic that the equipment will save several children from death. She called upon the administration to monitor the functionality of the facility for the betterment of service delivery.

Were Yahaya, the deputy Resident District Commissioner said the government will always support development partners supplementing its efforts in improving service delivery to its citizens.

He cautioned against the misuse of the equipment and corruption tendencies against the patients by the handlers.