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Lango, West Nile patients benefit from CT services
Mr Peter Okello Odeke, the Lira Hospital’s principal administrator, explains how the CT scan works on June 28. PHOTO/MARKO TAIBOT
What you need to know:
Dr Nathan Onyachi, the Lira Regional Referral Hospital director, says the new service has led to increase in the number of patients.
Communities in Lango and West Nile sub-regions have started enjoying better health services due to access to the latest diagnostic imaging technology.
The services are offered at Arua and Lira regional referral hospitals.
Computed tomography (CT) takes detailed images of the internal organs, bones, soft tissue and blood vessels.
The services include diagnosis of various conditions affecting muscles and joints, providing valuable insights into the underlying causes of pain, detects diseases and prepares patients for further treatment or surgery.
So far, 400 people from Lango and West Nile have benefited from the service since the Ministry of Health installed CT scanners at the hospitals, according to official data.
“We have done over 200 CT scans ever since the machine was brought to the hospital six months ago,” the director told our reporter last week.
According to Dr Onyachi, the Ministry of Health provided guidance to implement a fee for the service. This fee aims to assist the hospital in acquiring costly materials required for CT scans. These materials are part of the standard supplies provided by the National Medical Stores (NMS).
“So, people are paying a modest fee of Shs150,000 per CT scan with contrast and Shs120,000 per CT scan without contrast,” Dr Onyachi said.
Mr Peter Okello Odeke, the principal administrator of Lira Hospital, said they have renovated the room to suit the requirements of the CT scan.
“This is again another service that you cannot do freely. We charge some money to motivate the people working in it,” Odeke said.
Dr Alex Andema, the director of Arua Regional Referral Hospital, said they receive patients from South Sudan and the DR Congo.
Mr Richard Alu, a resident of Obongi District, applauded the government for installing CT scanners at all regional referral hospitals.
He said when he got involved in a road crash in 2021, he had to travel to Kampala because of lack of a CT scan in the north at that time.
“I spent close to Shs2 million including travelling for reviews which I did three times,” he said.
Background
In the past two years, government has made significant investments in enhancing diagnostic imaging capabilities in regional referral hospitals. The hospitals, which previously lacked basic imaging modalities such as conventional radiography, now boast of advanced equipment, including digital X-ray, digital fluoroscopy, Doppler ultrasound units, 32-slide machines, and computerised tomography (CT) scanners.
Lira Regional Referral Hospital had 98,356 specialised outpatient attendance in 2022, and also had a joint outpatient attendance of 34,473. Under diagnostic service, the hospital was able to do 3,278 X-rays by the end of the half year.
