By now many of you on social media must have come across a photo of newborn babies being put on plastic chairs at Kawempe National Referral Hospital that went viral earlier today. Due to the sad reactions that were tagged on the photo, Health Ministry has this evening issued a statement reflecting on the matter.
The ministry conceded the photo but blamed it on the unforeseen traffic that is currently happening at the facility since it’s the home to the Directorate of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatrics.
“Kawempe National Referral Hospital delivers an average of 80 – 100 babies daily and 2,500 babies monthly translating to approximately 30,000 babies per year,” said the ministry in a statement.
According to the ministry, the high patient numbers at the hospital are as a result of the increased number of referrals from the lower health facilities around Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono and other parts of the country.
The ministry further stated that despite the babies being on plastic chairs, they are in a temperature-controlled environment that is well protected from infections.
Furthermore, the ministry revealed that emergency measures have already been put in place to save the babies.
“Ministry of Health engineers are on site to assess the modalities required to expand the special care unit in order to cater for the high number of patients,” part of the statement reads.
The ministry is also in the process of procuring additional incubators, infant warmers, phototherapy machines and baby cots among others.
“In the meantime, some babies have been transferred to the special care unit at the Mulago Specialized Women and Neonatal Hospital as an interim solution to the current challenge of overwhelming numbers,” reads the statement.