The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Nakaseke Hospital is facing a shortage of medical supplies leaving patients and staff crying foul.
On Wednesday, angry hospital staff pinned placards at the administration block threatening to strike in protest of the shortage of the supplies.
According to the placards, the staff complained about the lack of surgical gloves, sutures, refrigerators and drugs among others.
They also complained of lack of sanitizers, masks and temperature guns putting their lives at risk of COVID 19 pandemic. The hospital administrators removed the placards and later vowed to take action against the four staff whom they accused of inciting others.
But some of the hospital staff who talked to URN on condition of anonymity for fear of reprimand said that they ran out of drugs last month and notified the administrators for action in vain.
The staff listed the crucial missing drugs at the facility as atropine, adrenaline, diazepam, bupivacaine and IV fluids among others which have crippled operations in the main theatre.
The staff said that without the drugs and equipment, they may be forced to halt operations.
Ruth Nakaliisa, a resident of Katuugo village in Wakyato sub-county said that due to lack of supplies, medical workers asked her to buy them from other facilities before they work on a patient who was admitted there for the delivery.
Nakaliisa was found in the maternity ward stuck after failing to get 25,000 Shillings to buy IV fluids and gloves.
Bernard Mwanje, another caretaker was found trying to make calls asking for money to enable him to buy drugs for his 5-year-old son after he was told they are out of stock.
David Ssemakula, the Nakaseke Hospital administrator said that the hospital run out of drugs before the planned next cycle of delivery by National Medical Stores.
Ssemakula explained that they used local revenue collections to buy basic drugs as they wait for National Medical Stores-NMS to make deliveries probably this week.
Ssemakula says that drugs supplied to the facility are always used up before the planned two months cycle ends due to the overwhelming number of patients.
URN was unable to get a comment from National Medical Stores on planned deliveries.
Every month, Nakaseke district hospital handles 250-300 deliveries and 6,000 patients at general wards.
The district hospital receives patients from districts of: Nakasongola, Luweero, Mityana, Kampala, Wakiso and Kiryandongo among others putting pressure on fewer medical supplies.
The hospital administrators and local leaders have since appealed to the Ministry of Health to upgrade the facility to regional status to attract more medical supplies to cater for increasing patients.
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