The participants say that most of such patients are low-income earners and asking to buy medicine from private centers is a death sentence.
When Ismail Mutabi, who suffers from mental illness, went to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital last week, he was not attended to as expected.
Doctors have reported stockpiling of drugs in public facilities.
Mutabi, a resident of Crimea Business Center in Kimanya Kabonera Municipality, Masaka City, says he keeps running out of “special medicine” in Ward 14.
“This shortage has lasted for four months. They only prescribe the drugs that I buy from private pharmacies outside the hospital.”
“I need at least Rs 50,000 every month to buy medicine, but sometimes I fail to collect the money and this may affect my recovery process,” he says.
Ms. Winifred Nambiro, a market vendor at Masaka Central Market shares a similar experience. She says that she was forced to take her daughter to Bubika National Mental Referral Hospital, which is about 140 kilometers away, due to the collection of money to buy medicine from private pharmacies.
“They [medics] We were referring to private pharmacies to get medicine, which was not sustainable. So I decided to take my daughter to Bobica for medical help.”
Masaka Hospital Patients Association President Mr Suibo Makombe Salmbaya said most of the patients who seek health services at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital are low income earners and asking for medicine from private facilities is a death sentence.
“I received many complaints from patients and their caregivers and when I visited Ward 14 [where patients with mental orders get medicine ] I was shocked when a health worker I met in the ward openly said that they often turn away patients because they don’t have medicine.
Mr. Charles Tomoshime, the principal manager of the referral hospital, admits that the facility suffers from drug stockpiling.
“It is true that the hospital has some stock of essential drugs at the end of the period, but this is usually resolved within a few days. As a principal administrator, I can confirm that we received the drugs on October 3 and currently We have no shortage,” he says.
In Jinja district, most low-level health facilities last received medical supplies in July. According to Jinja District Health Officer Dr. Peter Diogo, essential drugs such as Quartimem, which is used to treat malaria, have been missing in various health facilities for the past three months.
“National medical stores haven’t sent Quartium to health centers and why shouldn’t we,” he says.
The senior medical officer at Kyunga Health Center IV in Luka District, Dr. Aaron Kenneth Nabungo, said the health center has a list of about 15 types of essential medicines that are currently out of stock.
“We have stocks of drugs. Medicines like Amoxil have not been available in our stores for a month,” he says.
Mr. Peter Okilo Odike, a senior manager at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, says the facility is always faced with constant stock of drugs.
He says that when delivered, the medicine cannot last a month because they have a large number of patients.
The situation is not different in the eastern district of Toro. District Director John Okaya says that there has been a decrease in the attendance of patients in most of the government health centers due to the lack of necessary medicines and other medical supplies.
He says: “Many patients now go to private clinics outside the government health centers to access medical care, but they have to dig deep into their pockets.”
“The budget that the National Medical Store uses to allocate medical supplies for blacks was created 10 years ago when the population was still 500,000, but now the number is more than 800,000. .from neighboring districts and western parts of Kenya,” he adds.
The problem of not supplying medicine to health centers in Lajordo district is also a problem. According to the District Director of Health, Dr. Dennis Okola Omoya, both the supply of medicine and the staff at Palabek Village Health Center IV stand at 12 percent.
Mr. Thompson Obong, the chief administrative officer of Lamwo, says: “We had only two health centers in the district, located in Madiopi and Padibi towns, but the new health center IV, Palabek Kal, still receives limited medicines and we have. He informed the ministry.”
“We have very good infrastructure, but there is no equipment and there is no medicine, especially essential medicine,” says Dr. Patrick Kijomi, in-charge of Palabek Village Health Center IV.
But the Commissioner for Maternal, Maternal and Child Health in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Richard Mogahi, says: “The issue of drugs is revealed in the report that facilities like Palabek Village Health Center IV still have the quantity of drugs for Health Center III. I want to promise that by July next year Palabek Village Health Center IV and other facilities that are facing similar problems will get the medicine in the desired level and quantity.
Mrs. Sheila Nduokere, the spokesperson for the National Medical Stores (NMS), last week said deliveries of medical supplies and ready-to-use medical food to Northern Uganda were scheduled for this week.
She said the delay was caused by the complete closure of the Kroma Bridge late last month. Traffic along the Kampala-Gulu highway was restricted on September 23 following the complete closure of the bridge that connects northern Uganda to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“For other areas, we have tried to deliver all essential items on schedule since the beginning of this financial year. We have delivered medicines and other medical supplies to all health centers in the country, including hard-hit districts like Kalangala and Boma. Including, there is virtually no delay this time as there has been in the past two years,” Ms. Ndukure explained.
Dr. Richard Bossa, Director of Boikwe District Health, says that they were facing a severe shortage of some essential medicines in the past, but the situation has improved a little.
“There has been significant progress in the delivery of supplies. However, we are requesting the NMS to resolve the issue of anti-malarial drugs which will run out in a few weeks.
Dr. Stephen Banunya, the director of health in Jinja City, said the facility received two sets of supplies, which he said had never happened before.
“Our biggest challenge right now is staff shortages as the demand for our services has increased,” he says.
Dr. Frederic Daniel Izabari, Boinde District Health Director, says around this time, medical supplies by NMS have been greatly improved.
“All our health centers experiencing drug shortages are now receiving timely supplies compared to previous fiscal years and we appreciate NMS for this,” he says.
Kabul District Health Teacher Alfred Bisigansi and Kisoro District Maternal and Child Health Deputy Director Mrs. Annette Dusabi both say that they have not had any stock of medicine for the past three months.
Compiled by Mahdi Senkabirwa, Tobias Jolly Owini, Dennis Adema, Robert Muhiriza, Abubakar Kirunda, Tosi Nakato, Antonio Kliango, Bill Okeach, Joseph Omolo and Fred Wambide.
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