By FELIX AINEBYOONA
MBARARA. Medical workers at Mbarara hospital have raised concern over the high number of abandoned patients.
Sr
Ruth Asingwire, the officer in-charge of the Intensive Care Unit, said
at least three patients in critical condition are abandoned by relatives
at the hospital every week.
She said it has become difficult for
medical workers to treat the patients because some of them cannot speak
and they have no one to explain their complications.
Addressing journalists at the hospital on
Wednesday, Sr Asingwire said on May 15, unknown people dumped an 18-
year-old pregnant woman identified as Prossy Nabasa, who was in critical
condition at the hospital. She had raptured ectopic pregnancy.
“We
got a telephone number from a paper she was holding and called but when a
man who picked the call heard that we were from Mbarara hospital, he
hang up on us and switched off the phone. It is still off up to now. It
is one and half months since we received this lady. She has since been
on oxygen,’’ said Sister Asingwire.
She said nurses are the ones feeding and washing her.
Mr
Denis Akena, a social worker at the hospital, said another patient
identified as Mr Viane Habyarimana, has been abandoned at the hospital
by his wife and yet he is in critical condition.
He said in most
cases, relatives abandon their patients fearing to answer many queries
regarding how the sick person got to that critical condition without
bringing him or her to hospital.
He said others fear they will be
asked to pay a lot of money yet Mbarara hospital is a government
facility, which offers free services.
“All the services given to the patients are catered for by the government,” Mr Akena said.
CREDIT: DAILY MONITOR
Comments
Post a Comment