I checked in my elderly patient at Mengo hospital at about 1.00pm. The patient was female, elderly and preferred that hospital.
I left the hospital at about 9.00 pm in the night after she was admitted and tucked into bed.
Her wish was granted. Glad to be treated from Mengo hospital. A week later she was discharged. Happy.
Grandma is a nonagenarian, represents the silent generation ( born between 1928-1945) and relates to Mengo hospital.
She loves the nurses clad in white uniforms. They are gentle on her. She also loves the white, ironed bedsheets. Maybe.
Mengo Hospital was founded in 1897 by Dr. Sir Albert Cook and he is the father of modern medicine in Uganda. It is the oldest hospital in Uganda.
When she was admitted news spread fast. She was admitted at Mengo hospital, Lukka ward. Expectedly, she is over 90 years. In Lukka ward? Is that not supposed to be for men? The questions started.
While the hospital is clean the bills are exorbitant. Progress at this hospital is so slow. Lukka ward still has a bumpy, cement floor. The building has had some renovations but still relates to the missionaries who built it.
I guess that is why Grandma loves it. I do not and I pay the bill. We are all frustrated actually. Why can’t the buildings be updated to fit in the modern era?
The Out Patients Department (OPD) building at the entrance, which was slated to have been complete stands idle with no progress now for over five years. Patients have to squeeze into a small space to see doctors.
We all pay for parking but that is hardly available. I can’t talk grandma to opting for another hospital. It can as well be designated for elderly patients.
She does not complain about waiting time. She has time. But she does not pay the bill. It is also not cheap.
This brings many questions to my mind. Who is in charge of this hospital? A week at the hospital cost us some millions. While I am happy to keep Grandma happy and grant her wishes I am so angry at the administration.
The money we pay and this is not the first time we take her to that particular hospital, needs to be accounted for by making the hospital more efficient and expanding it. The missionaries built it in 1897 when the population was maybe a fifth of what it it now.
We pay exorbitant bills for services but especially the buildings like Lukka ward should not first collapse for you to expand re-design them. It is better handed back exclusively to the private sector, maybe we shall pay more but they would do a better job.
As well when your clients like grandma or the silent generation who doesn’t mind being checked into a ward with both male and female patients and a rough floor and can’t complain are no more you will have not addressed the incoming generation of patients who hate to be stuck in the Victorian era!
By Cathy.
