“[The personnel being recruited include] 12 intensivists, 12 anaesthesiologists, 120 critical care nurses and 20 physicians. [We are] currently shortlisting and interviews will happen in a week’s time.
Then we will follow with recruitment for regional referral hospitals,” he said.
According to experts who are treating Covid-19 patients at the facility, there has been a drastic rise in the number of patients who are progressing to severe condition and need intensive care.
Dr Bruce Kirenga, one of the experts at Mulago, told this newspaper that the number of Covid-19 patients that need intensive care services doubled between September and October, compared to July and August.
Reports from some relatives of Covid-19 patients indicate that a number of patients are failing to get space in the unit due to large numbers and they are being subjected to pay huge sums of money to meet the bills of private hospitals. We couldn’t independently verify the claim.
Covid-19 cases
The country had so far registered 207 deaths and recorded a cumulative total of 23, 200 cases as of Tuesday evening.
Dr Misaki Wayengera, the head of Ministerial Scientific Advisory Committee on Covid-19, warned that the country is entering the peak of an infection this month and that the capacities in place may not handle the situation.
“There has never been a more deadly timing to contract Covid-19 as this, a time when you will require a doctor, nurse, oxygen or a ventilator and none will be available to you not that these are not in place, but they will be occupied,” Dr Misaki said.
Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, the State Minister for Primary Healthcare, said her ministry has established intensive care units in all regional referral hospitals to accommodate the rising numbers.
However, the heads of some hospitals, last month said they had received the ICU equipment but they couldn’t install due to limited space.
“Our stand is that asymptomatic and mild cases are managed from the communities. Hospitals will be reserved for only severe cases. But the transition is slow and that is why some hospitals are still overwhelmed,” Dr Kaducu said.
“We want hospitals to have a high dependency unit and oxygen plant. The only challenge we have is the problem of human resource to operationalise the ICUs,” she added.