Africa-Press – Uganda. Last month, doctors at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital successfully separated a dead conjoined twin from a live sibling. The twins who belong to Ms Loyce Alinga, a resident of Kapelebyong District, had been delivered by caesarean section at Amuria Health Centre IV in Amuria District with one of them still born. They were joined at the stomach.
Before the operation at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, the twins had been taken to Mulago Hospital where they were discharged without treatment. In brief, Soroti Regional Referral Hospital saved the day by agreeing to carry out this risky operation and succeeding at it.
Ever since news of this operation broke, the hospital has been praised including by Members of Parliament. On April 7, Parliament honoured the team during the afternoon plenary session.
During the session, the Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Mr Musa Ecweru, asked his colleagues in the Ministry of Health to prioritise health centres in rural areas while Kasilo County MP Elijah Okupa, who moved the notion for the doctors to be honoured, said government should consider salary raise for doctors, equip and rehabilitate all regional hospitals in the country. A full list of the honoured team was published in Daily Monitor of April 8 in a story titled, “MPs honour Soroti doctors for saving cojoined twin.”
The team, lead by Dr Joseph Epodoi, definitely restored faith in our health facilities and personnel, especially those upcountry. Even with the challenges that the hospital faces, they were able to have a successful operation.
And the fact that they did not shun a case that had been turned away by the national referral hospital is also commendable. Needless to say, there must be numerous other successful operations that Soroti Regional Referral Hospital and other hospitals upcountry perform without being highlighted. This shows the value of having well-equipped hospitals in all regions so that we don’t always have to flock to Mulago. After all, it is clear that we have able human resource regardless of what part of the country they are in.
However, these health centres need support they can get to function at their highest capacity. Most of these centres suffer from gross understaffing which is usually occasioned by the the high level of brain drain.
This has a direct co-relation with the poor pay that they receive when health workers choose to stay in the country. Other issues that must be dealt with include lack of adequate support for medical research and lack of equipment. This needs to be urgently addressed.
Hopefully, we will not wait for another miracle operation to happen in another upcountry hospital before we can again remember that our health sector needs more support and reinforcement. Kudos to Dr Epodoi and the team.
