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Entebbe Hospital opens mobile clinics for HIV, lifestyle disease patients

Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital has started operating weekly mobile clinics for people living with HIV, diabetes and hypertension.

The clinics will operate daily and weekly depending on the demand and in designated areas in and near Entebbe Municipality.

The decision to regularize the operation of the three clinics follows the closure of all departments in late March to focus on treating and managing coronavirus disease-COVID-19 cases.

Dr. Moses Muwanga, the Director Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital says there has been an outcry from the public particularly people with pre-existing conditions and chronic illnesses on the lack of access to medical checkup, review and drug refills.

The hospital has so far designated St. Kizito Primary School Kawuku, Kitala Primary School, Quran Primary school in Abaita Ababiri and Grade A Entebbe, next to State House to operate the mobile clinics. Stable patients with diabetes and hypertension are given drugs to last a month while those in unstable condition are given appointments to return after a week or two.

The clinics for diabetes and hypertension are held once a month in each of the four locations while the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) clinic is opened daily at Grade A. Close to 100,000 with HIV live within Entebbe Municipality and beyond. They rely on the clinic for regular checkup and drug refills. About 800 people who have diabetes or both diabetes and hypertension used to visit Entebbe Hospital prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in Uganda.

Hajjat Sarah Nanyange aged 51, says she has lived with diabetes for 26 years now. Nanyange, who is also the chairperson of Entebbe Diabetes Association says that the condition of some patients deteriorated to the extent that “eleven patients died after the hospital was closed and failed to get treatment in time due to the lockdown.”

She therefore appealed to management team to look for ways to reach out to patients who may die after failing to get medical attention. Dr. Kefa Bacwa, the Head of Community Health Department at Entebbe Hospital says the lockdown has affected patients with chronic illnesses and health workers because it is difficult to get transport to and from the health centres.

“The hospital has 3 ambulances. But one has been earmarked for non-COVID-19 purposes. So the health workers also have transport challenges to and from the mobile clinics,” Dr. Bacwa says.

Dr. Muwanga says that the clinics will also start providing medical services to sickle cell patients and the general public because the health center IIIs at Katabi and Kigungu are overwhelmed by high numbers of patients.

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