URN.The Bundibugyo Town Council LC III chairperson, Hassan Baguma explained that they need to see the hospital improve to national standards to address the increasing number of patients including Congolese refugees.
Bundibugyo authorities have asked the government to renovate and expand Bundibugyo general hospital. According to the local leaders, that hospital that was built in the 1960s is dilapidated, lacks essential medical equipment and can no longer match patient numbers.
They want the government through the Ministry of Health to urgently prioritize the renovation and expansion of Bundibugyo hospital, which currently admits more than 500 patients from the initial 100 it was designed for.
The Bundibugyo Town Council LC III chairperson, Hassan Baguma explained that they need to see the hospital improve to national standards to address the increasing number of patients including Congolese refugees. He says the hospital infrastructure is adequate and dilapidated, which affects service delivery.
Baguma also told URN that the facility doesn’t have a fully functional mortuary and lacks suitable staff quarters and specialized doctors.
Acrobert Moses Kiiza, the Bughendera County member of parliament, says that the hospital is dilapidated, adding that despite engaging relevant authorities to work on it nothing has been done. “Bundibugyo general hospital is in a poor state, dilapidated and we are appealing to the government to intervene,” Kiiza noted.
Richard Gafabusa, the Bwamba County member of parliament, says the patient population has outgrown the capacity of the facility. “The hospital buildings are too old and no longer convenient to handle patients at the level of a district hospital,” he said.
Dr. Amon Bwambale, the director of Bundibugyo general hospital, says that they don’t have enough space, which forces some patients to sleep on the floor. He adds that the facility has not had a functionally X-ray machine for more than three years now yet there is a growing demand for services.
Francis Ndahura, the senior administrator of Bundibugyo Hospital, says that they wrote to the ministry in 2013 to improve the status of the facility but to date, nothing has been done.
