Top storyMoroto Regional Referral Hospital is struggling to operate without X-ray and Ultrasound Scan machines. The hospital lacks a functional ultrasound machine and X-ray, and the patients are often referred to Matany Hospital in Napak district to access these services.
The X-ray machine broke down one year ago, while the Ultrasound Scan machine stopped working a month ago. The breakdowns were attributed to unregulated power voltages that caused damage.
According to the hospital management, they are forced to facilitate the patients to travel to Matany Hospital for scanning, and the patients later return with the report for analysis and treatment.
A spot check by our reporter at Matany Hospital found a long queue of patients waiting for scanning services, with the majority being referred from Moroto Regional Referral Hospital.
Moses Nasiru, a patient from Moroto town, said that he was advised by doctors at Moroto Regional Hospital to go and scan his fractured leg at Matany Hospital.
Kevin Wandeka, another patient from Amudat district, said that he was referred from Looro Health Center III in Amudat district to Moroto Regional Referral Hospital, where he was later referred to Matany Hospital in Napak.
Wandeka said that the frustration was too much because he had to rely on his own resources to facilitate the entire movement. He was charged 60,000 shillings by Matany Hospital for the scanning of his chest.
Juma Kidok, another patient from Amudat district, shares the same experience as Wandeka. Kidok said that he was taken to the orthopedic department at the regional referral hospital, where he was referred to Matany.
Kidok said that they charged him 20,000 shillings before he was taken for the scanning, and he paid another extra 40,000 shillings.
Dr. Paul Ajuk, the Principal Administrator at Moroto Regional Referral Hospital, confirmed that their X-ray machine broke down a year ago, and they do not have experts to repair the machine.
Ajuk said that they have been referring patients to Matany Hospital for only X-ray and ultrasound scanning services and not for treatment.
He said that there is no way they could keep the patients around when the services are down, so the only alternative is to refer them for help from other private facilities.
Ajuk said that the hospital spends its own money to transport the patients to Matany for the services and bring them back for interpretation of the results and treatment.
Ajuk noted that the Health Ministry has promised them a new digital X-ray machine, which has not yet been delivered.
He noted that the ultrasound scan machine also broke down a month ago, and the engineering department did some troubleshooting.
Ajuk explained that the team discovered the problem was beyond their knowledge and contacted the Health Ministry for help. He says that the company that supplied the machine exited the country some time back, and now they are waiting for the Health Ministry to give them a way forward.
Ajuk said that the hospital has been forced to suppress other activities to obtain the budget for transporting patients who seek scan services from Matany.
He said that the Health Ministry was informed about the crisis in early January 2024, and they are still waiting for a response.
Deusdedit Kateregga, the medical superintendent at St. Kizito Matany Hospital, said that they are getting referrals from the areas of Teso, Bugishu, Sebei, and the neighboring Turkana in Kenya.
Kateregga noted that a high number of patients seeking scanning services have been referred from Moroto Regional Referral Hospital. He observed that they have been receiving over 20 patients a day for the last three months following the breakdown of the X-ray machine at Moroto Hospital.
Kateregga highlighted that the facility is facing the challenge of limited space and low staffing to handle the overwhelming number of patients. He added that they have only a bed capacity of 250, but the admissions always exceed 280 patients.
Kateregga also explained that the facility fully relies on donor funding, which is not enough to manage the current situation at hand. He added that they need more extra beds, manpower, and space.
Matany Hospital has so far registered over 676 patients referred from Moroto Regional Referral Hospital for ultrasound scans and X-ray services since July 2024 to date.