The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The COVID-19 Treatment facility in Mulago uses at least 120 full sets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) every day, according to Dr Byarugaba Baterana, the Executive Director of the hospital. Dr Baterana was this morning receiving a consignment of PPE donation worth USD 25,000 from the Makerere University Walter Reed Project, on behalf of the United States Department of Defense.
Although Dr Baterana couldn’t reveal the exact amount of PPE they get per month, he said their demand from the Ministry of Health is quite high, now that they are handling some complicated cases that require full-time attention and an increased number of health workers to take care of them. Because of this, he said they at times don’t get all that they require.
Dr Rosemary Byanyima, the Deputy Director said they have 250 patients on the ward with either moderate or serious disease whereby some five are in critical condition being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.
She said that 25 of the patients are being treated in the high dependency unit with health workers deployed full time in shifts of four hours per team.
Dr Dorothy Mwesigwa, the Deputy Director at the Walter Reed Project said it’s because this continuous interaction between health workers and very infectious patients that they stepped in to contribute to patient safety considering that a number of them have already tested positive for the viral respiratory disease.
She said the organization has already been working with the hospital in researching how to mitigate emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases which include influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory diseases from which they have picked lessons on managing COVID-19.
********
URN
