A medical personnel at the paediatrics ward at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital has revealed that there are increased pneumonia and diarrhoea cases currently reported at the medical facility.
Hellen Aciro, a nursing officer at the children’s ward told PML Daily at the health facility in Gulu town, that the ward has registered more pneumonia and diarrhoea cases compared to last year where more than 50 admissions were malaria cases.
“Apparently we have high cases of Pneumonia and diarrhoea and malaria has gone down to average of 15 patients from over 60 children admitted at the ward late last year,” Aciro said.
She noted that children reporting with cases of pneumonia and diarrhoea are below 12 years of age.
She added that the unit also faces rampant power blackouts which sometimes affect managing children with respiratory problems.
“We have problem of power, UMEME disappoints us, and the power inverter is always on and off,” she said, adding that the children’s department also relies on intern doctors since there is no specialist to handle special children health complications.
Norah Nakate, the Principal Nursing Officer at the facility said patients’ attendants normally sneak away with mosquito nets, which they are given to use during admission and that is why the ward lacks mosquito nets.
Ojara Martin Mapenduzi recently urged that government hospital should be reconnected to Umeme postpaid tariff to avoid losing children at acute stage in hospital due to power cut offs.
He said sometime Yaka tokens run out at hospitals and patients cannot wait for the bureaucratic process of reloading it. He suggested that the Ministry of Health should consider paying hospital bills annually.
Recently, two children being monitored on Oxygen at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital died when the facility’s Yaka token ran out and the generator ran out of fuel.
