Dr. Richard Kalungi: The pioneer house call doctor

Dr. Richard Kalungi has chosen rare path in the practice of medicine. Although the common practice in Uganda is for anyone seeking medical attention to visit a health facility, Kalungi is pioneering a concept of doctors visiting patients in homes, work places, and schools.

“I wanted to get a solution that can enable me help patients outside the consultation room in hospitals or health facilities,” he says, “The concept may be new to Ugandans but the passion is not new.”

Kalungi and a team of others offer the full range of services from consultation, to treatment and recovery support. The team assesses, diagnoses, treats, and recommends referrals depending on need from the comfort of the patient’s home.

Kalungi started his organisation, Home Doctors Uganda, close to a year ago after working briefly with some private hospitals. At just 28 years, he says he developed the concept while at Makerere University School of Public Health.

Here, he was often among teams that traversed upcountry in camps to offer treatment to underserved people. Kalungi says his passion to help others was molded right from his childhood. He often had to care for his siblings as his mother and father were often away at work.

He does not recall of any family member or immediate relative who pursued medicine but he chose it to make an impact in his community. At just 12 years, having completed Primary education, Kalungi says he developed the desire to become a cardiologist or any medical doctor.

He emerged among the best three pupils from Mubende Parents School and joined Makerere College School in Kampala. As a day scholar, he had to live in a hostel and started an independent life at only 13 years.

“I became strong at a tender age which pushed me to work harder,” he says.

He joined St Mary’s Kitende for A-levels where he exhibited an excellent performance and joined Makerere University on the coveted government sponsorship to pursue medicine.

Kalungi and others working on the same concept are also booked online for different packages ranging from antenatal, general home healthcare which is both for the sick and those who seek solutions, health education for companies and institutions like schools, health campaigns and camps, medical staff empowerment and a lot more.

Richard Kalungi’s Liteside

Any three things we don’t know about you?

It’s about character; I am a passionate person who pushes with honesty. I will push for something even before I receive a pay-cheque and this is something I do out of passion. I am also a resilient and determined person who believes that anything can work out.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Happiness comes with success after so much of hard work and sleepless nights.

What is your greatest fear?

Failure and disappointment; it sometimes drains the confidence out of me. However, it is also good in a sense that fear brings out the prayerful me to overcome.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

It is something I have carried on from my father; at times I push so much that it makes other people around me look unserious and think that I am pushing my personal agenda which may not be the case because all I want is to succeed. It has gotten me a little bit of issues and I wish it lowers such that I can work at the same pace with others.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

I hate people who don’t keep time and those who disappoint me. I believe that when we waste time, we miss out on a lot of other things.