Local hospital tour - depressing!

One of our friends is a volunteer who works as a physician and professor at the local hospital and university. Danny and I visited the hospital for the first time today and it was difficult not to cry.

I expected the hospital to be of extremely low standards compared to western hospitals but what I saw shocked me. Tragically there are many, many hospitals in Uganda and all over Africa which would make this hospital look modern in comparison. We discovered:

• There are often 3 or 4 babies/toddlers in one bed.
• The neo-natal ward (which was recently set up by the volunteer) has no incubators but is a small room with heaters. The nurses refuse to work in there so all care is provided by the mothers, attendants and the doctors.
• Babies are dying all the time.
• There aren't nearly enough nurses so most of the care is given by family members. They bring mattresses to sleep outdoors on the hospital grounds. They also bring basins for doing the laundry and lay them on the grass or fences to dry.
• Meals are not provided, therefore, the family of the patient brings food and cooking utensils to prepare their meals.
• Families are being taught about nutrition because most children are suffering from malnutrition - not because of lack of good food but because of ignorance about nutrition and the importance of continuing breast-feeding.
• Usually there are no drugs/anaesthesia available at the hospital so the patient's family is sent with a prescription into the town to purchase them from the pharmacy.
• Severe lack of equipment
• More than half of the patients admitted are children and a large percentage of those are babies.
• The paediatric ward has mosquito nets but many of the beds have none and there are no screens on the windows (which are often broken). Therefore, patients contract malaria easily.
  
  Grim, very grim.

Not all hospitals are like this one – some are worse, some are better. The International Hospital of Kampala is a very good, modern and clean hospital. All VSO volunteers are sent there for care if the problem is not minor enough to be treated adequately locally.

When volunteers, staff or college students are ill we are taken to the private hospital in town. It is more expensive but far superior care.