Plan for specialised hospital gives hope to accident victims
The CEO of AKSA Group, Mr Nurdin Samji (2nd right), and area leaders during a tour of the site where the trauma hospital will be constructed in Budaka District on Monday. PHOTO/MICHEAL WONIALA
What you need to know:
The facility will be situated at Budaka Health Centre IV on Mbale- Tirinyi road, which witnesses many road accidents.
AKSA Group, a Canadian company, in partnership with the Ugandan government has finalised plans to set up a modern specialised trauma and general hospital to handle accident victims and other emergencies in the country worth Shs900 billion ($250m)
Codenamed Budaka Specialised Trauma and General Hospital with a 200-bed capacity, it will be situated at Budaka Health Centre IV in Budaka District on Mbale- Tirinyi road, which witnesses many accidents. The facility will be about 20 kilometres from Mbale City.
While touring the construction site with area Members of Parliament, district chairpersons and technical staff at Budaka Health centre IV on Monday, Mr Nurdin Samji, the chairperson of AKSA group, said the hospital will bring hope to millions of Ugandans.
“It will offer a glimmer of hope to Ugandans who can’t seek specialised health care outside the country because of lack of enough finances,” he said.
“The centre will assemble a multi-disciplinary team of specialists, including physicians, nurses, therapists, and counsellors, who will work collaboratively to develop personalised treatment plans for each patient,” he said.
Prof Vinard Mukatabala Natulya, a pathologist, and chancellor of Busitema University, said statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate more than 70 percent of trauma cases occur in the eastern and northern regions of the country.
“This facility is urgently needed in this region to address the challenge of medical tourism where Ugandans travel out of the country to seek specialised treatment,” he said.
He also revealed that there will be specialised programmes at the facility to train individuals in emergency crisis response as well as train medical students in surgical fields.
Dr Ajedra Gabriel Aridru, a consultant at AKSA Group, said about 70 percent of accident cases occur in the eastern and northern parts of the country.
Dr Elisa Mulwani, the Budaka District Health Officer, said the hospital will revitalise health care in the district and the country at large. “This is going to be very important for Budaka and Uganda because this is one of its kind. We will be able to upgrade to a hospital status because with a trauma centre, we will receive a huge number of patients,” he said.
Mr Arthur Waako Mboizi, the MP for Budaka County, said the facility will reduce the burden of seeking medical care abroad.
“Trauma from accidents is very serious because it destroys the memory and in East Africa, we only have a trauma centre in Nairobi, which makes it expensive for ordinary people,” he said.
Dr Patrick Lodoi Mutono, the MP of Butebo, said the facility will help to decongest Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.
