HELP! PATIENTS AT BUHINGA REGIONAL REFERAL HOSPITAL ASK RIDE-AFRICA.

”Our children and relatives are dying due to negligence and lack of medical care from the nurses and doctors; many more patients are in critical condition and are likely to die soon if no care is given to them”  thus  asserted, Lusiano a care taker of a patient at Buhinga Hospital. Early on a bright Thursday (20/06/2013) morning  patients at Buhinga Referal Hospital flooded RIDE-AFRICA offices begging for it’s intervention in the appalling health situation at the hospital. Among others, patients complained of denial of medical care; for instance one Nantune Sylivia complained of having not received drugs or seen a health worker for the past three days.

Patients and their caretakers at Ride Africa Office

Given it’s mandate as a human rights based Non-Governmental Organization operating in the Rwenzori region and also geared at improving service delivery in the health sector, patients had stormed Ride Africa asking them to follow up with the hospital administration and the other relevant authorities to plead their cause or table their challenging situation with the hope that they would be easily listened to. This follows the on-going strike of medical workers at the hospital that accrued from the delayed payment of their salary by Government. Akatukwatsa Patricia a nurse at the hospital revealed that they had not been paid salary for the last two months of April and May. She notes that they have failed to send their children to school or even afford descent meals lately.

This delay of salaries has grossly de-motivated the health workers from working. Patients revealed that most health workers had deliberately passed them by and refused attend to them, and for those patients who had been taken to theatre for operation, they had been left there with their wounds open.

Think about a young boy who under goes operation for stomach discomfort and as the nurses and doctors go strike, the innocent operated boy is left with his wound wide open under untold suffering and pain. This is the story and current situation of John Asaba (not real). The “stench” from his open wound now welcomes whoever visits the ward.

Responding to the disgruntled patients the Ride Africa deputy Executive Director Ms. Erina Kahunde expressed their heartfelt sympathy and pain to the patients, adding that it is unfortunate that they were suffering due to situations they did not cause. She however asked the patients and care takers to remain calm as they seek a solution to the appalling situation. Ms Erina then called the District Chairman LCV and informed him of the situation. In his response (on phone), Hon. Rwabuhinga Richard apologized for government’s continued failure to pay health workers’ salaries at Buhinga Hospital on time.  He explained that for the number of times this has happened Health workers have been forced to strike, abandon work and hence leave the patients at the mercy of God. The Chairperson asked the patients to take heart and go back to the hospital promising to follow up with the hospital administration.

Following this Erina appealed to the patients and their caretakers to remain calm and optimistic for Ride Africa was going to seriously follow up their concerns with all the respective leaders till they are adequately addressed, explaining that, that is Ride Africa’s mandate. With the reassuring messages from the Chairman LCV and Ride Africa, the patients at exactly 2:30.pm walked back to the hospital.