IGANGA, UGANDA: The Revolutionary Guards(RG), a political pressure group have pledged to give Iganga District Hospital a standby generator to enable the facility to operate even when the area experiences load shedding.
This comes just weeks after information circulated in the media about the continuous power blackouts at the facility.
Led by their National coordinator and doubling as the NRM Chairperson Kiruhura district, Mr Nzeire Kaguta Sedrac, the Revolutionary Guards are in the region to partner with people from all sects of life without religion or tribe but as Ugandans based on NRM’s four principles of Patriotism, Pan-Africanism, Democracy and Social-economic transformation.
Mr Nzeire said on Thursday that they as well visited the region to see how people have benefitted from government programs regardless of region or political affiliations before he flagged off his team to Iganga general hospital at Nakavule to distribute sugar and soap to patients. They were pleased to discover some achievements of the facility as well as challenges where they pledged to pressure responsible authorities for action.
“We found Iganga hospital with some achievements and it has been working and excelling best in the country but it’s better if they make it a referral hospital given the self-explanatory big population of about six districts it serves yet it’s also on the highway for emergency response. We can base on their performance to elevate its status and here we call upon Ministry of Health to speed up the process,” Mr Nzeire said before pledging a brand new generator for the health facility.
“We found many challenges which are not permanent but can be addressed. One of them was experiencing load shedding when patients are in theatre and I, plus my partners; MK movement, Team chairman, Muhoozi Army and others are going to respond immediately with a solution. On behalf of all those groups, I have pledged that we shall bring here a reliable standby generator and donate it to this hospital soon, other challenges will be addressed by the government,” Mr Kaguta said.
The Principal Nursing Officer at the facility Ms Nangobi Phoebe says their daily inpatient on average is 170 patients and 17 deliveries a day. She noted the challenges of power which disorganize their work, especially in the laboratory and theatre. Others are; shortage of blood, oxygen, few health workers and fewer drugs in relation to the number of patients.
“We receive oxygen from National Drug Authority after every two months but it’s not enough and being on the highway, we receive accident emergencies and blood runs out very fast. We have a bed capacity of 100% but drugs are not enough and power also interrupts our work plus the small number of health workers,” Ms Nangobi told the RG team.
However, the hospital administrator Mr Ramathan Mugolofa Gaboli commended the group led by their coordinator Nzeire Kaguta and said that getting a reliable standby generator and adding a voice in lifting the hospital status will help them move a long way in serving their people.
“For quite a long time we have been chasing to be elevated to the level of a regional referral hospital given the statistics and in terms of output, we’re at the same level with the existing referral hospitals like Jinja and Mbale. This status comes with so many items like more staff or specialists, equipment, funding, etc,” Mr Gaboli said.
People appreciated the spirit of the revolutionary guards led by national coordinator Mr Nzeire and regional coordinators Hajji Ojasi Swaibu and Mr Meddie Gowa for supporting some patients and the entire hospital. They pointed out some challenges at the facility which included poor hygiene of the toilets and a shortage of drugs.
“There is a need for more drugs, I came from Jinja seeking medication but I found no drugs and they told me to buy. I appreciate the team for giving me soap and sugar but I call upon the government to continue working on this hospital to get more better,” Ms Monica Namumbya from Wagona village, Magamaga town council in Jinja district said.
Meanwhile, the revolutionary guards who are in the region for two days, closed the first day with sports activities of bicycle racing and football. The racing winner was awarded a new bicycle plus boosting the racing SACCO with at least 200k and the revolutionary guards won Iganga Corporates team with a 1:0 win in football.
Mr Nzeire Kaguta Sedrac pledged 5 million shillings to the management of Iganga Saza ground as starting contribution to have a standard football pitch with a perimeter wall and public toilets. The team will today lead an ideological engagement at Mum resort hotel where a number of facilitators have been invited to speak to people on the theme of “Guarding the revolution by enhancing knowledge, unity, culture and economic empowerment.”
Among the expected facilitators are; minister for general duties in the office of the prime minister Hon Justine Kasule Lumumba, Maj Gen Sam Kavuma the national coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation(OWC), Hon Nawenge Ritah the national coordinator Emyooga, among others.
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