BUVUMA.Health workers at Buvuma Health Center IV are sharing a room with corpses due to lack of a mortuary.
When a patient passes on, the body is kept in the Doctor’s examination room, Ms Hellen Adong ,a caretaker said on Wednesday describing the situation as scary.
“I was traumatized and my patient was scared as we went to the Doctor’s room and found a body,
Through the normal procedure, the body is to be taken to a mortuary, but due to lack of one at Buvuma Health Centre IV forced health workers to vacant examination room to create space for its storage where it stayed for the whole day.
The situation, though long-standing, was cast into sharp relief following the death of Zebio Kaaya, who was stabled during a misunderstanding with his wife Norah Namiiro.
Kaaya was rushed to the health center by residents, including David Kasirye, the area Chairperson of Bukambe Village Namirambi sub-county. But he succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival.
However, staff performed a post-mortem in a general ward a process that lasted for three hours and unsettled patients who lay just a few metres away, some still receiving treatment.
Dr. Crispus Nkoyoyo , the deputy head Buvuma Health Centre IV said they are working in a fifthly environment, and out of desperation, they have to use rooms meant for doctors and patients to store dead bodies.
“This is affecting the ability to provide care, and patients are now afraid to come here. Many patients have shunned seeking medical services for fear of being made to be served alongside bodies” he said
The Buvuma District Chairperson Adrian Ddugu called on Ministry of Health to intervene and upgrade Buvuma Health Centre IV to a hospital.
“This is the only major health facility in Buvuma and the situation reflects a broader neglect of the district’s basic health infrastructure. We cannot continue to keep bodies on cement floors in the patients’ ward or doctor’s rooms, this is scary and keeps patients shaken and traumatised.,” he said
Buvuma District has a population of over 154,000 across 52 islands in Lake Victoria. Currently, it has one Health Center IV at Kitamiro and seven health centre 111s: Busamuzi, Bugaya, Lukale, Lubya, Nkata, Namatale, Lweje, and Buwoya. The district also has four health centre 11s, including Bwema, Lingira and Namiti.