Kabale University offers UGX 72m to renovate regional hospital ICU

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kabale University has donated 72 million Shillings towards the rehabilitation of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital. The intervention follows concern about the sorry state of the ICU at a time when the country is battling an outbreak of coronavirus disease.

Early this month, parliament’s health committee visited the hospital and found that the ICU was ill-equipped with only four beds, three spared for women and one for men. They also found the unit’s structure in shambles with clogged toilets, a damaged floor and no running water.

Professor Joy Kwesiga, the University Vice-Chancellor told our reporter on Monday that the university authorities were concerned after realizing that the hospital is struggling in its preparedness efforts against COVID-19. Kwesiga says that the funding from the university will now be used to renovate the floor, verandah and wall painting among others.

Kwesiga also says that the university has deployed 30 medical staff from its Department of Medicine to work with the district task force. With such an intervention, Kwesiga expresses optimism that the hospital will be ready to handle any COVID-19 case.

Alfred Besigensi, the acting Kabale District Health Officer says that the district was stuck in its attempts to renovate the ICU due to lack of funds. Besigensi says that the unit’s structure is very old with no electricity and that they had also been forced to turn the psychiatric department into an isolation unit to accommodate COVID-19 suspects.

Kabale Regional Referral Hospital Director Sophie Namasopo says that after the renovation offer by the University, the hospital management will now remain with a challenge to equip the unit with beds. Namasopo, however, says that they are in talks with the Ministry of Health to equip the unit with 10 ICU beds, ten ventilators and ten monitors.

Namasopo also says that the ICU unit still has no generator as well as a mobile x-ray.

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