Lack of specialist services and specilised medical workers in the lower health centres is one of the causes of increasing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs in communities with increasing populations of the people in the communities.
Dr Robert Mutebi the In charge of Budondo Health Centre IV said it is high time for the concerned authorities to think of deploying some specialists to bridge the gap in diagnosis in the health centre IVs due to the overwhelming number of patients
“For purposes of bringing services to the people, there is need for specialised medical personnel in these lower facilities.” Dr Mutebi revealed
“We need to have in place dentists and doctors who can handle heart, kidney, liver and lung problems,” he said.
Dr. Mutebi said they receive a lot of patients with such cases but it feels bad that such people can’t be served yet they can’t afford looking for the specialists in Kampala.
He was speaking to this stringer from the the ongoing 3-day-medical camp organized by Bujagali Energy Limited at Budondo HealthCentre IV, Jinja City North Division.
The camp that started today is offering free medical services for complicated health conditions.
He said the facility receives about 250 patents daily but observed that it was unfortunate that they handle only manageable cases due to limited staff.
Emphasizing his point, Dr. Mutebi said the deployment of specialists in the lower health facilities would checkon the overwhelming number of patients referred to regional referrals.
Dr Susan Kikira, a senior consultant and ophthalmic surgeon who has retired from public service said the number of eye specialists is very small to handle eye cases in the country.
Sr. Clare Ataliba a Senior Nursing Officer at the facility said the scan machine brought to the facility has been lying idle for the last five years due to lack of sonographer to operate it.
Sr Ataliba said in most cases patients that need scan services are told to try elsewhere.
“We have a functional beautiful scan machine in this facility but it is dormant because health centre IVs have no sonographers deployed there,” she said.
“Something needs to be done to save the lives of the people,” Sr Ataliba quickly added.
On the behalf of Bujagali Energy Limited, Ms. Stella Barbra Namugenyi talked to The Eye Media.
She said the purpose of the camps was to help patients who are in need of treatment but cannot afford buying drugs after diagnosis.
“We have donated a maternity ward and some equipment and we shall always continue to support the facility whenever need arises,” she pledged.
Patients who spoke to us about this camp applauded Bujagali Energy Limited for this innitiative which say is timely since some of them have been grappling with exhobitant private clinics which are sometimes inefficient.
