The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Access to health care services has become a nightmare to several city residents because of the ongoing lock down.
On Wednesday last week, president, Yoweri Museveni banned public transport as a control measure against the spread of the coronavirus following the confirmation several cases in the country.
The lock down affected people with doctor’s appointments, reviews of those in need of emergency healthcare. Some of the patients were advised to secure ambulances to deliver them to the health facilities.
Jane Kalanzi, a resident of Makindye division told Uganda Radio Network that she had planned to visit a health facility since Sunday after developing flu-like symptoms, chills and high temperatures as they have been publicized as some of the symptoms of COVID-19.
Although Kalanzi hasn’t visited any of the high risk areas, she told URN that she got scared after learning that some people in the community have also started testing positive for the virus.
“I called the Ministry of Health help line countless times but they were not picking and my fever was just increasing”, she said.
With the fear of infecting others intensifying, Kalanzi decided to risk by getting a boda boda motorcycle despite the fact that they had also been banned from carrying passengers.
She says the motorcycle dropped her at Kiruddu National Referral hospital where an ambulance picked her and delivered her to the national referral hospital in Mulago for further assessment.
There she was told to go buy some medicines from the pharmacy.
Hasifah Birabwa, an expectant mother whose labor pains started in the wee hours of Tuesday morning wasn’t that lucky to find an ambulance.
Birabwa, a resident of Kawempe reached Kawempe National Referral hospital around 2 pm after failing to get any help from the authorities including the emergency team set up by the “People’s government” to provide assistance to people like her.
She told URN that when her pains intensified around midday, she decided to go to the nearest police post for help. “The police told me to pay for a boda boda and gave me a police man to escort me,” she said.
In Rubaga division, Wilberforce Masiko had an appointment to take his mother who battles cancer of the stomach for radiotherapy at Uganda Cancer Institute on Tuesday morning.
He told URN that unlike the way it is usually, the facility was almost empty and getting the service was quick since most of the people who had appointments for radiation treatment didn’t make it.
He said he took the mother using a boda boda after their usual driver turned them down citing the presidential directive.
Masiko said hiring an ambulance wasn’t an option for them because of the high charges. Previously, he said when they have used an ambulance they had to pay Shillings 100,000.
With the special hire car, he says they usually spend between Shillings 20,000 to 30,000 to get to the cancer institute in Mulago.
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