By Gilbert Akampa Kakurugu,
Mbarara city
Many people are familiar with Uganda Heart Institute as the go-to facility for heart surgeries. However, this may soon change as Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital has been identified to assist in offloading the overwhelming number of patients waiting for heart surgeries at Uganda Heart Institute.
Reliable sources indicate that the 93-year-old institution has been earmarked to provide support for heart surgical operations. Specialists from Uganda’s Heart Institute recently visited Mbarara Hospital to assess the facility’s capacity to perform heart surgeries. During their visit, they were received by Dr Deus Twesigye, the hospital’s senior consultant surgeon who then introduced them to Dr Celestine Barigye, the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital director.
Dr Deus revealed that the team assessed various units in the hospital to verify their status while Dr Celestine described the move as significant, as it will add to the list of existing specialized services. Dr Barigye believes that conducting heart surgeries at Mbarara Referral Hospital will reduce the burden of patients in need of services at Uganda Heart Institute.
He also views it as a way of decentralizing highly specialized services, which is a major step towards bridging the healthcare gap in the country.
Currently, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital has been taking care of some people with heart complications, especially children, but they had not reached the level of an operation. Although the hospital has been conducting special surgeries such as brain surgery, one of the complex surgeries, it hadn’t had the capacity to conduct heart surgeries up to now.
Halson Kagure, the Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital public relations officer, revealed that some patients were happy about the decision and urged the government to provide necessary resources for Mbarara Referral Hospital to deliver services to patients in the region and beyond.
The cardiologists also assessed several areas, including the intensive care unit, laboratory and diagnostics, pediatrics unit, and operating theater, among others. Dr Barigye confirmed that the specialties and where the hospital needs to improve will be briefed to Uganda Heart Institute specialists after the fact-finding mission.
While the hospital has been offering a wide range of specialized services, it remains overstretched, and there is limited space for expansion. It remains to be seen if the government will revamp the hospital to a national referral hospital, as per the presidential pledge while commissioning the hospital’s storied building more than ten years ago.
With the move by Uganda’s Heart Institute to support heart surgical operations at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, it is hoped that more patients will be able to access specialized healthcare services, and that the move will promote decentralization of highly specialized services in the country.
