The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kyenjojo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Expectant mothers at Kyenjojo general hospital are struggling to share the limited space and beds at the facility.
The ward is unable to host all the expectant mothers and those who have given birth.
Some of the expectant mothers opt to sleep in the corridors and the veranda.
According to the in-charge, Harriet Komuhimbo, the ward was constructed to accommodate only 40 beds but they receive more than 100 expectant mothers leaving them with no space.
Our reporter visited the hospital and found expectant mothers and their attendants competing for space inside the ward while others sleep in the corridor or the hospital compound.
Komuhimbo says that they are sometimes forced to refer the patients to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital due to limited space. She notes that it also becomes increasingly difficult for the nurses to administer medication to mothers and their children from the ground.
Jennifer Lukia, from Kigarale sub county says she is among those who were sent outside the ward shortly after giving birth due to lack of space.
Margaret Karungi says she went to the hospital to deliver last week but has since been stranded outside the ward with midwives telling her that her time to deliver is not yet due.
Bruce Rwampunda, the hospital administrator says they are much aware of the situation but have run out of options. He says that health workers are also concerned about the congestion and have forwarded their concerns to the district authorities.
The Kyenjojo District Chief Administrative Officer Samuel Kaija says that they have allocated 160 million shillings in their budget for the coming financial year to construct a new maternity ward.
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