Busoga health stakeholders call for second regional referral hospital
Moses Kyagwa, the chief executive officer of Busoga Health Forum (BHF), an association of health workers in Busoga, says they have observed that there is an increase in sickle cell, Malaria, HIV, and non-communicable diseases in the region.
Intern Nurses attending to women in the female ward of Iganga general hospital on Monday. (Photos by Donald Kiirya)
NewVision Reporter
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_________________ Mothers attending to their premature babies while in the special care unit of Iganga general hospital on Monday.
Leaders and stakeholders in the health sector in the Busoga region, in partnership with Iganga General Hospital management, have renewed calls to the Government, through the health ministry to elevate the facility to a regional referral hospital.
They argue that for a long the health facility has been offering health services beyond the level of a district Hospital with limited funding from the Government adding that it is the most suitable to be elevated and become the second regional referral hospital in Busoga.
Moses Kyagwa, the chief executive officer of Busoga Health Forum (BHF), an association of health workers in Busoga, says they have observed that there is an increase in sickle cell, Malaria, HIV, and non-communicable diseases in the region.
“The population of Busoga now requires that we have more than one regional referral hospital because Jinja Regional Referral Hospital alone is not enough and since we are looking at a second alternative, maybe Iganga General Hospital should be considered because it is located along the Jinja-Bugiri-Busia highway,” Kyangwa says.
He adds that Iganga General Hospital has a lot of land (20.8 acres) which gives it the possibility to expand so that it fits the standards of the regional referral hospital.
Dr Kharim Mwebaza Muluuya, the assistant district health officer in charge of environmental health in Iganga district, says: “ Iganga general hospital serves almost seven districts: Namutumba, Namayingo, Bugiri, Bugweri, Mayuge, Luuka and part of Jinja for some specialised services”.
Reflecting on Iganga General Hospital’s performance in the last 10 years, it has been the best in the country based on outpatient department attendance and caesarean sections and deliveries conducted in the hospital where it registered higher numbers adding that this makes Iganga General Hospital worthy to be elevated to regional referral status.
Muluuya says if the Government considers giving them a regional referral, they should consider accessibility for the services which they intend to extend to the people.
Dr. Dauda Mugoya, the medical superintendent of Iganga General Hospital says they are currently overwhelmed with high numbers of patients seeking treatment at the facility.
Mugoya says Iganga General Hospital was constructed in 1968 with a bed capacity of 100 and it was serving the greater Iganga with an average population expected to be 500,000 people per year, but currently, they serve a bigger number of patients which forced them to increase on the number of beds in the same structures to meet demand.
Mugoya says despite the high number of patients they continue receiving, the Government has always been underfunding the facility as a 100-bed capacity hospital yet they currently operate over 200 beds adding that they serve close to two million people per year with inadequate staff.
Phoebe Mudaala, in charge of the paediatric ward, says the admissions in the ward per day are between 15-20 patients and the drugs are not enough due to the number of patients adding that if Iganga is elevated to a regional referral, the ward will be renovated and expanded to accommodate the overwhelming number of patients.
Agnes Batani, a senior nursing officer and head of the maternity department says she gets an average of 600 mothers and 600 deliveries are conducted in a month adding that those who need cesarean referred to Iganga from other health centres are also many and this suits Iganga to be elevated to a regional referral hospital.
However, New Vision Online could not independently verify the 600 deliveries per month figure that Batani says the hospital undertakes.