How DRDIP transformed Kyegegwa health center IV to a hospital
The health service indicators at the then Kyegegwa Health Center IV were quite low before DRDIP intervention, two years ago. Dr. Tedson Kandole the Kyegegwa District Health Officer confesses that the Out Patient Department (OPD) was below one percent functionality, that, the Operation Theater was ramshackle and that, the inpatient services were quite low due to unconducive environment.
“Currently we have 1.2% per capita up from 0.8%; we have a modern OPD plus other improvements by DRDIP which attracted the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health Dr. Diana Atwine to upscale our status from Health Center IV to a District Hospital”, Kandole notes.
The DHO says, the number of patients undergoing operations at the uplifted Kyegegwa facility has increased exponentially from 20 to 60 patients per month. “The improvements have enabled Ministry of Health to increase the number of medical officers of varying specialties”, he adds.
Dr. Martin Yefta the acting hospital head confesses that, “in 2018, we only had a small OPD which was hosting a maternity ward as well”. He says, DRDIP built the In-patient Department(IPD), Theater, children’s ward and a better OPD. Dr. Yefta recalls that, “attendance to OPD in 2018 was 19,000 people, but in 2022, the number has spiked to 29,000”. The IPD attendance rose from 1,800 to 5,000 currently. The immunization services record shot from 6,840 to a miraculous 11,800 children served to-date.
“There is a huge leap in the number of people attending to services at this hospital currently because of the structures put up by DRDIP”, Dr. Yefta reveals. He says, the maternity ward improved maternal services leading to increased normal delivery of up to 160 children per month. The Ministry also deployed six medical doctors at the facility and yet before the expansion, there was only one doctor. “With installation of effective running water and power, I can afford to tell you that DRDIP has simply dropped Gold in the middle of a desert”, Dr. Yefta believes.