Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda’s largest public hospital, has appealed to the government for Shs10 billion in funding to revive its ailing medical machines, some of which have been out of service for months.
Mulago hospital, which serves as a key referral center for the East African region, has struggled with outdated equipment and insufficient resources for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the situation.
This information was made public by Mr. David Nuwamanya, the hospital’s principal administrator, yesterday, two weeks after Daily Monitor ran a report about the facility’s “dead” devices.
The completion of renovation work in the chamber that contains the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine is one of the milestones attained, according to Mr. Nuwamanya, who said that operations to restore the functionality of the machines are being sped up.
Despite being deployed in 2018, the Shs5 billion MRI equipment for disease diagnosis is still not operational due to unfinished renovations.
According to a government assessment and sources, more than 40 machines at the institution that are necessary for disease diagnosis and treatment are not working.
MRI, X-ray, CT scan, ventilators, electronic suction machines for aiding breathing, blood pressure monitors, and patient monitors are some of the non-operational equipment.
Yesterday, Mr Nuwamanya said: “We need Shs10.3 billion for maintaining the machines but the government is indicating that they have Shs6 billion. There is a possibility that they will provide the amount we need.”
He was speaking at a press conference addressing journalists about Mulago’s medical camp that will take place the next week. The camp, which will be held from Monday through Tuesday, aims to give more than 2000 people and kids free health screenings and treatments.