MUKONO-UGANDA |KYAGGWE TV|
Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) has run out of space for private patients, the executive director, Dr Jackson Orem has confirmed. Dr Orem said that they are challenged by the fact that today many patients prefer to be treated on private than the general wing.
This came to light on Friday during the requiem mass of the Zonal Agriculture Development Officer for Central Region, Alice Nakiganda (58), which was held at St. Paul Catholic Parish in Mukono Municipality.
Rachael Ssewanonda, who was Nakiganda’s care taker, said that they were admitted at Mulago in the Cancer Institute over two weeks back after going for a routine check-up and the doctor held them at the ward following the patient’s health condition.
“But to the deceased’s surprise, she was allocated a bed in the general ward even when they had presented their wish and ability to pay for the private ward,” she said.
According to Ssewanonda, Nakiganda was subjected to a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) which discovered that she had a tumour in the liver, lungs and at the spinal cord, which subjected her to multiple organ failure.
She said that when they approached the administrators of the private wing at the Cancer Institute Mulago, they were told that the ward had been filled to capacity for some time.
“We were told the fact that the private ward was having patients who had been on ward for the last two months without getting discharged. We were promised however that if any of those gets to be discharged, we (the patients in the general ward) will get the first priority. Unfortunately, we spent their two weeks without getting any consideration,” Ssewanonda narrated to the rest of the mourners who had gathered in church to bid Nakiganda farewell.
She added; “Nakiganda lied on her bed in pain of the sickness and the pain of failure to be admitted on the private ward yet she had the ability. The situation would again be worsened by the people who came to see her and were embarrassed by her admission in the general ward; they were offering to cater for her bills in the private wing.”
After realising that Mulago Cancer Institute had failed to meet her expectations, Nakiganda asked her doctor to refer her to any other private hospital though Ssewanonda said that the doctor declined saying that because he had been her doctor for some time, it was at the Cancer Institute where he would be able to monitor her.
When contacted on phone, Dr Orem admitted that they are oversubscribed on private wing adding that nowadays people prefer to be treated on private than on the general wing.
“However, the treatment is the same; it’s just a little bit of ambiance at the private wing not necessarily the treatment. At the end of the day, cancer care is uniform, what is important is that you are getting the right treatment,” he stressed.
He added; “For me personally, if I am to give you my opinion, that segregation between the general and private ward is very artificial, because at the end of the day, they are the same doctors working on all of the patients at general and private wing.”
When asked whether they have hope of solving the challenge soon, Dr Orem did not have a satisfying answer.
That somehow answers the reason why most of the government officials who fallow sick are rushed outside the country for better and specialised treatment, though of late, some of those have as well not survived, despite the efforts by the government to try to save their lives.
According to the former State Minister for Health, Sarah Opendi, she said that the only solution to save this situation at Uganda Cancer Institute will be the opening of regional cancer centres.
The government have therefore earmarked to construct four regional cancer centres and the plans are underway with Mbarara, Arua, Gulu and Mbale regional cancer centres.
It is alleged that those centres will have fully established cancer care services ranging from cancer awareness, cancer detection, cancer treatment and palliation just as it is at Uganda Cancer Institute Mulago.
Fr. Paul Ssebitoogo, the parish priest for St. Paul Catholic Parish, led the well-attended requiem mass for Nakiganda. A number of Reverend Fathers, NAADS secretariat staff led by the executive director, Dr Samuel Mugasi, the Mukono district staff where the deceased started working as a county agricultural officer in charge of Nakifuma County in 1992 when she had just graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelors of Science in Agriculture.
Fr. Ssebitoogo asked the rest of the Christians who were in attendance to take Nakiganda as an example of a Christian who performed her role well, wishing good for others, fulfilling her church obligations and also serving diligently in her different positions as a civil servant.
Dr Mugasi said that Nakiganda has fought a good fight, has finished the race and that she has also kept her faith saying that was being witnessed by the big numbers of mourners who had turned up for her burial. Nakiganda’s husband, Mr. Nyanzi died more than ten years ago.
Dr. Mugasi said that though it is difficult and painful to manage the world without a mother and father, but he asked Nakiganda’s children to be strengthened that she is in a better place.
The children are; Gloria Nanyanzi, Raymond Mukwaya and the young son, Jonathan Yawe who is in Senior Three.
Dr Fred Mukulu, the Mukono District Production Officer who worked with Nakiganda at the district until she left referred to her as a no-nonsense servant who streamlined her juniors for better results.
Nakiganda served as the Mukono District NAADS Co-ordinator between 2003-2011 before he was elevated as the Zonal NAADS Co-ordinator for Central Region (2012-2014) and Zonal Agriculture Development Officer for Central Region (2015-2020).
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