Uganda Ministry of health speaks out as mothers and babies in Kawempe General Referral Hospital compete for limited bed spaces.
Mothers compete for the beds and hospital labor suite at Kawempe Referral Hospital in Uganda, according to TowerPost, this is not different from other public-funded hospitals in Uganda. More than 80 mothers reportedly deliver their babies in the hospital on a daily basis.
“The patient numbers are so many. The referrals are abnormal from lower health facilities.” Health Ministry officials.
Health centers provide comprehensive emergency obstetric care, including cesarean sections, blood transfusion, and anesthesia, most of them across the country do not have adequate capacity in terms of personnel and supplies.
They have to compete for the beds in the hospital labor suite, which forces others in early labor to lie on the floor.
The post-natal ward where mothers are supposed to be referred six hours after a normal delivery is only equipped with a mattress where they lie on the floor without beds, which exposes their babies to infections that can lead to death.
Here are some pictures of newborn babies placed on plastic chairs and packed together in an open space as the nursery limit has been over exceeded.
