If you have been to Mulago hospital or another government aided health center in this country you can relate to this blog. The attitude towards work displayed by most medical personnel in this country would make a young person looking for career options in this field run to other professions, Sure there is the low and late pay and heavy work shifts, poor living conditions and lack of enough equipment to work with and many other negative things that medical personnel have voiced through strikes over time. lack of proper, adequate equipment to carry out the right diagnosis, operations, treatment, Lack of amenities, poor hygiene, lack of enough staff, lack of enough qualified staff or specialists, poor infrastructure and so much more……These are problems government needs to deal with, put more money into Uganda’s healthcare system. If government were to increase tax and the reason given was that we are going to inject it into the health care system, then many of us would gladly give to the cause.
1. Unprofessionalism! The nurses especially are very rude to patients, have an I don’t care attitude, You are not the first we have seen, wrong drug administration, pricking a patient twenty times before finding the right vein, wrong diagnosis, favoritism, lack of knowledge and showing it, inefficient, lack of empathy for patients. The plight of the average and poor Ugandan who can not afford to go to a private hospital is silenced by the fact that the policy makers who have the power to make difference have never experienced the treatment at Mulago, Mubende, and other similar places, They and their families fly to other countries for treatment. The poor attitude towards work and lack of empathy by medical personnel has been the cause of death to many Ugandans not the illnesses that took them to hospital in the first place.
2. Lack of proper, right, quality, serviced equipment in hospitals. Most departments are under equipped, so coupled with being under staffed, a over flooded with patients, there are higher chances you will die from a condition that would have taken simple medication if diagnosed on time. Patients have to wait for periods even longer than a month for a chance to get a diagnosis that requires a machine, for example the MRI machine at Mulago serves 5 times over its standard capacity. Many hospitals, they even lack thermometers, syringes. If a case is an emergency and there are 150 emergency cases, chances are you will die at a hospital before you even get any care.
3. Lack of enough infrastructures to take on the masses. There are not enough hospitals, ambulances, Bad and sometimes impassable roads.
4. Lack of enough or right treatment for illnesses diagnosed. Many a times you will walk into a health center, if you are lucky to get medical attention before its too late, You will be prescribed what medicine to use but not given the meds because the pharmacy run out. sometimes you can be an admitted patient that needs to get an injection every 12 hours, You just might be asked to buy the injection and medicine yourself. simple meds like paracetamol, injection water may not be available, so you have to buy them from private pharmacies out of the hospital.
5. Corruption!!!! It has not spared the health system, if you dont have a bribe to offer starting from the gate man at some hospitals to let you in when visiting hours have passed, to the nurse dispensing medicine. No money no service! Its a shame, When you look at funds said to be going to the healthcare system, you wonder where it actually goes, well, ok you know where it goes but definitely not used for its intended purposes for the good of all Ugandans
Due to these issues and more, many patients opt for local medicine without proper diagnosis, seeking private health centers or simply stay at home until the good Lord calls you!
The question remains what can we the average Ugandan that can afford to go to a private hospital do to help our public health system! any takers?