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Over 3,500 get free medical attention at week-long camp
A health worker attends to an elderly patient during the free medical camp at Bugema University. PHOTOS/ COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Most of the patients who thronged the free medical camp which started on June 19 and ended June 28 came from Luweero, Mbarara, Gulu, Arua, Kayunga, Mubende, Mitiyana, Kiboga, Gayaza, Kabale, Wakiso and Mukono, among other districts.
Residents from different parts of Uganda have decried what they called the “choking cost of medical services” in the country.
“I have issues with my eyes. Now that I am old I am shortsighted. When I tried going for a consultancy in a private hospital, I could not afford the fee,” said 75-year-old Sarah Namulindwa, a resident of Zirobwe, Luweero District in central Uganda.
“I tried going in government hospitals but I could not access the medical services and so when a friend of mine told me there were people offering free health care services I decided to come. I also need medication for my back because I have a fracture,” added Ms Namulindwa who was among 3,513 people found at a free medical camp at Bugema University in Gayaza.
Most of the people who talked to this reporter said they had resorted to using herbal medicine which is relatively cheaper as the cost of living and medical attention in the country continues to increase by day.
Some of them said they tried seeking medical attention in government hospitals but there were no drugs while others said the charges were not affordable to them.
Mr Joshuaa Egwang, a resident of Matugga in Wakiso District said that he has battled with prostate cancer for close to five years now without proper medication.
“I was supposed to part with Shs4 million which I was still raising when I had about the free medical camp. My young brother brought me here and the doctors have attended to me very well. Last night when I couldn’t urinate they came and put on me a urinary catheter and now I can urinate,” he said.
Most of the patients who thronged the free medical camp which started on June 19 and ended June 28 came from Luweero, Mbarara, Gulu, Arua, Kayunga, Mubende, Mitiyana, Kiboga, Gayaza, Kabale, Wakiso and Mukono, among other districts.
According to Dr Henry Ssembuya who’s one of the medical workers found attending to patients at the camp, many people in local communities fail to seek medical attention because of poverty.
“That is why government should subsidise the medical services to make them affordable to all Ugandans. The burden is there but the coverage is limited. Some people have sold their pieces of land to raise money for medical bills,” he said during the camp organized by Bugema University hospital in partnership with Loma Linda University (California, USA) through Adventist Health International and the Uganda Union Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Uganda.
Dr Robert Semakula, a Ugandan based at Loma Linda University said, “Medical care is still a luxury in Uganda. I have come across people who have never seen a medical doctor in their life. For some, it has been ages. They simply rely on herbal medicine. Many cannot afford surgery procedures. We hope the little we have done will go a long way in helping.”
The site manager of Bugema University Hospital, Dr David Bakunzi said they focused on the commonest diseases that are affecting most locals.
These, he said include; malaria, typhoid, syphilis, diabetes, hepatitis, hernia, flu, pneumonia and other upper and lower respiratory tract infections, ENT dieases, dental conditions and UTIs, among others.
“We have also carried out blood transfusions, testing, screening for HIV, cancer and sickle cell. Pregnant mothers have come and we have done free scans for them. Those with fractures have gotten a chance to do X-rays,” he said.
Severe cases were referred to Mulago national referral hospital for better medical management.
Free medical camps orgnaised by various humanitarian orgnaisations and business companies have become common in Uganda as the country struggles with its ailing health system.
