Uganda's main hospital has turned into a nightmare for sick people and their families. Justice Irene Mulyagonja watched her husband die at Mulago Hospital after staff could not find basic supplies like oxygen. The judge said regular patients face even worse conditions than people who pay for private rooms. Patients sleep on cold floors because the hospital serves twice as many people as it can handle. The facility was built for 1,600 beds but crams in over 3,200 patients every day.
Doctors and nurses cannot keep up with the massive crowds of sick people. One doctor might treat more than 70 patients during a single shift. Joseph Bizimungu broke his leg in a motorcycle crash and waited three days before a doctor checked on him properly. His sister had to chase medical staff around the hospital just to get pain medicine. Many patients lose their beds without warning because someone sicker needs the space.
Families spend huge amounts of money buying medicine and supplies that should be free. The hospital runs out of surgical gloves, needles, and even basic painkillers on a regular basis. People rush between different pharmacies trying to find antibiotics for their loved ones. A simple CT scan costs 150,000 shillings and patients wait for hours in painful lines. Even blood tests become difficult to arrange at this government hospital.
The African Development Bank gave Uganda 88 million dollars to fix Mulago Hospital. Officials promise better buildings and modern equipment for patients. Critics say money alone cannot solve the deep problems with corruption and bad management that plague the medical system.
Doctors and nurses cannot keep up with the massive crowds of sick people. One doctor might treat more than 70 patients during a single shift. Joseph Bizimungu broke his leg in a motorcycle crash and waited three days before a doctor checked on him properly. His sister had to chase medical staff around the hospital just to get pain medicine. Many patients lose their beds without warning because someone sicker needs the space.
Families spend huge amounts of money buying medicine and supplies that should be free. The hospital runs out of surgical gloves, needles, and even basic painkillers on a regular basis. People rush between different pharmacies trying to find antibiotics for their loved ones. A simple CT scan costs 150,000 shillings and patients wait for hours in painful lines. Even blood tests become difficult to arrange at this government hospital.
The African Development Bank gave Uganda 88 million dollars to fix Mulago Hospital. Officials promise better buildings and modern equipment for patients. Critics say money alone cannot solve the deep problems with corruption and bad management that plague the medical system.
