By Samuel Olara

2^nd April 2012:

Ward or Footpath? Mulago hospital corridor

The unfortunate tale of the medical negligence experienced by Judith Nansubuga’s family at Rubaga hospital as reported in the Monitor, Saturday 24, is yet another poignant illustration of the rot in the medical fraternity in Uganda today.

It is even more hideous to think that medical professionals who are trained and have made public commitments to the professional responsibilities they are assuming – which is the principle underlying the Hippocratic Oath – contributed to the needless death of Nansubuga and her unborn seven month old baby.

Where has the sense of ethical and moral value in this profession gone?  Also, has this country been so “politicised” that we have completely lost any sense of social expectation towards the state, whose duty it is to provide such amenities as Medicare?

Only last month, the family of Mambo Yossa in Yumbe District lodged a complaint against a health centre with the Uganda Human Rights Commission following the preventable death of their baby during a bungled caesarean operation on its mother, Night Kalsum.

Mr Yossa said that the nurse on duty only examined his expectant wife once her situation had worsened.

Prior to this, a newborn baby boy bled to death at Gulu Regional Hospital only hours after a nurse on duty put him in the incubator with his umbilical cord not properly tied.

The baby was delivered through caesarean section after its mother, Patience Adong, developed complications.  A heart-broken Bonny Odongo said that his son and wife did not get adequate attention because he did not have money.

Then there was the case of a family whose daughter was administered the wrong medication in Kitgum hospital, which led to the mutilation of her arm.

These incidences have become daily occurrences in Uganda’s hospitals, health centres and clinics, and Ugandans have come to accept that “this is just the way things are.”

For some reason, life just seems to continue as normal for the rest of Uganda – until the next family gets caught up in the same maladministration.  Their grief then takes over the previous, and the circus continues.

Cases of incompetence and negligence that often lead to the unnecessary death of patients have become too common-place and are simply unacceptable.

Ugandan hospitals are shadows of what they used to be 26 years ago – they are among the worst in the world. No wonder the elite and middle-class at the echelons of power are terrified to go into Uganda’s hospital. They know that for the ordinary Ugandan, it is a sentence of death.

Those who are responsible for Uganda’s healthcare system are often travelling half way round the world to get treatment in hospitals where patients are treated quickly, efficiently, hygienically and with respect.  And guess what – their foreign medical bills are paid by the timid Ugandan taxpayer.

Many health care professionals today generally give the impression of being uncaring, lazy and damn right ignorant. The NRM government seems to have completely privatised any state responsibility towards our health care system, allowing almost anybody that can, to open and operate a private hospital or clinic.

The profession used to be a sacred vocation, now it’s just about making money. You go into a hospital and the situation everywhere is the same: staffs sit watching “voiced-over sitcoms” on TV and chatting on their mobile phones, while patients lie desperately wailing for help and attention along corridors and on floors of crammed wards.

The NRM government’s “political correctness,” has completely wrecked the way hospitals operate, a damage that will take decades to repair. As if doctors don’t make enough mistakes, hospital staff who make egregious errors cannot be punished – let alone told off – because they are either related to the powers that be or are only accountable to the owners of the private clinics.

No one dares apologise for mistakes because they’re aware that there is no accountability to any institution in the country.

The Government spends about sh45m to train a doctor on tax payers’ money and there is no reason why they should leave the people who contributed to their education to die because of greed. Their training should emphasise diligence and work ethics.

Equally, principles are expected to provide guidance in the ethical decisions medical staff make throughout their professional lives.

The practice of medicine is a privilege which carries important responsibilities. It calls for observance of the core values of the profession which centre on the duty to help sick people and to avoid harm.

Unless Ugandans start demanding for accountable from this government, and urgently seek a review of not only the training and employment policy for health workers but the overall relaxation of laws that allows every Tom, Dick and Harry to operate a clinic without accountability; many of whom are not serving for the public good, patients will continue to perish needlessly.

Whilst we appreciate that, doctors have been crying that they are under-valued and paid; this must never be accepted as an excuse for unprofessional misconduct.  My heart goes out to the families who have suffered as a result of the rot in our hospitals.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.

Mr Olara is a human rights advocate and editor of Acholi Times