Visit to Sorotri Hospital August 2010

Entrace to Soroti RRH.

Inside operating theatre.The only anaesthetic machine we have EMO, next to it are two oxygen cylinders, recently supplied after an incident.Empty ether bottles for EMO anasthetic placed on window sill.One oxygen concentrator only works with powerThe only suction machin on small table.

Drums cotaining the only theatre instruments. We run out off instrument and we have to postphone operation untill instruments are sterilised.

Fixed operating tables, when you are short you have to stand on a wooden frame in order to gain access of operation. if you are tall then you will stoop throughout surgery.I am in the backgound showing you the non functional over head lamps, when power is loadsheded we use touches for operating.

Broken operating theatre floor, making it difficult to clean the theatre.

Attendants preparing food for their patients under the trees.most times the whole family migrates to eat in the hospital because the mother who is the only cook at home has moved to hospital. Even the man hangs around in hospital after eating the meal then he goes back home.

Inside childrens ward, the boy is sitting on the table and he is on quinine drip. Most patients share the beds, you can find 3-4 children on one bed, their mothers, sit or stand near the bed watching the drip, when bottle is empty they call the staff to remove it. the ward was so congested with floor cases.

Wall of X-Ray building

Xray machine donated by Germans, it is non functional, the starter blew off.we have an old Xray machine in opposite room with a faulty dark room

Inside Ultra Sound Scan room.A very tiny Ultra sound scan machine, the only one we have in the hospital.It is overworked , most time the gelly is not available.

Another group of attendants cooking outside

VVF ( vesicle vaginal fistula) Occurs as a complicatin of child birth.Inside VVF ward, A young lady 17years, a VVF patient, See the back of her skirt wet with urine. even her legs and the floor where she was sitting was wet with urine. The whole ward was smelling urine, this women are rejected by the society because of their condition. Others leak both Urine and stool.She is waiting for an operation to correct the defect.

Pregnant mother lying on the varandah of the maternity ward, her laggage next to her, there is no more space in the ward. She is waiting for someone to be discharged before she can be get space.

Inside maternity ward, all the beds are full, most mothers lie on the floor with their babies, on mats or large polythene papers.Sitting on the floor are admitted mothers with their charts waiting to be reviewed by the doctors on ward round.

Maternity ward, see lebel