On the outside it is a well maintained facility giving off a deceptive aura of a place for healing. Indeed it is the second largest hospital in the country, And one of the oldest. But Jinja Referral hospital is currently overcrowded and this congestion is a serious risk to patients.
Its age should be a strength, ironically it is perhaps its undoing. Its deceptive looks and long service to the community is an obvious attraction to patients.Inside the walls of Jinja hospital lies a choking death trap for many of these patients.
The hospital suffers unprecedented overcrowding that instead of being a place of healing it has turned into a conduit for transmission of communicable diseases.
Desperate situations call for desperate measures. For example this rehydration room has been turned into an isolation room for this small pox patient. The room is however too close to the other wards for comfort.
The children’s wing of this regional referral hospital is the hardest hit. There is no breathing space. The beds are too crammed together even for safety. A bed meant for a single patient is shared by 2-3 patients.
The facility has not been expanded to cater for the growing patients who visit each day. But Dr. Wanume says the congestion is not entirely negative since it shows that the population is responding to positively to professional medical help.
This situation has for a long time now prevailed at the hospital. Critics say this probably has put a strain on the resources at the hospital and could explain some of the unnecessary deaths here.
However, Dr. Wanume disagrees. Dr. Benon Wanume – “ patients dying in hospitals may not be because of lack of drugs may not be lack of drugs… health workers cannot stop death…”
Dr Wanume says these problems can be dealt with if patients sought medical help elsewhere as other remedial measures such as expanding the facilities sought.
Dr. Wanume – “ we appeal to the general public … to cooperate with our staff … seek help from other units…”
But patients want to go where they think they will get better help. Many of the health centres in the countryside lack drugs let alone enough health workers. However, Dr wanume insists that it is wrong to turn to a referral hospital as a place of first instance.
Dr. Wanume – “ Patients should be taken to places where they must be treated, health centre IIs…” The situation at Jinja hospital is representative of the many of the health facilities across the country.
Although many of them were built about 50 years ago when the country’s population was small they have not been expanded to match the growing population.
As part of their centennial cerebrations, Jinja Municipal council donated some mattresses to try alleviating the problem.
However, the hospital’s major problem is not mattresses but a dire need to expand the facilities to absorb the numbers of patients that seek help here. It is only then that hospitals such as this one will be places of healing and not dungeons of death.
