A mother has died after delivering at Luwero hospital due to protracted labor because of the failure of her family to pay Shillings 200,000 for medical supplies.
Specioza Nabasinga,36, and resident of Kakabala village, checked in at Luwero hospital on Friday with labor pains.
Her husband, Laban Otuuka, says that Nabasinga checked in for normal delivery but doctors advised her to undergo a cesarean operation on Saturday.
According to Otuuka, the doctor asked him to pay Shillings 200, 000 so as to operate on her wife in vain.
He only managed to raise Shillings 100,000 later in the evening.
According to Otuuka, although he later paid the money to the doctor to attend to his wife, she passed on due to prolonged labor without attention.
Dr. Steven Magera, the Medical Superintendent of Luwero hospital has confirmed the mother’s death. He says that the child is still alive and has since been transferred to Kiwoko hospital for further management.
Magera however explained that the hospital is currently facing drug shortages resulting from the delayed supply by the National Medical Supplies, adding that there is a possibility that the money was needed to buy them from a private pharmacy so as to operate on the woman.
URN has seen a list of consumables that were needed by the doctor to perform the c-section but are allegedly out of stock at the hospital. These include among other sutures, normal saline, urine bag, IV antibiotics, and spinal drugs.
The National Medical Supplies last supplied drugs to Luwero hospital on October 10th, 2021, according to the hospital records. NMS was supposed to make fresh deliveries on December 23rd, 2021 but to date, they are yet to come through.
Erastus Kibirango, the Luwero district LC 5 Chairperson, says that the hospital administration wrote to National Medical Supplies on January 11th, 2021 informing them about the drug stock out no delivery was made.
On January 6th, 2022, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja stormed Mityana Hospital after health workers also failed to operate mother-carrying triplets after failing to raise Shillings 400,000 for medical supplies.
Nabbanja chose to buy the required consumables for the operation after NMS failure to deliver medical supplies because they were involved in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
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