By DALTON WANYERA

Posted Thursday, July 1 2010 at 00:00
There is no clear sign post to indicate the presence of a hospital along this pothole-filled-road, deep down in Mayuge District, Maniro Sub County, Nkombe village.
The only one existent is obscured by a bush bearing the words “family planning services available here”. I later learn that this health facility has been around since 1996; one structure occupied by one table and a chair for the hospital in-charge. The nurses improvise; the patients find the floor convenient, after all, chairs are rare even in their homes. All the rooms are empty except one with a two inch mattress in a corner. Besides it is a sunflower flask, food container and plastic plates and a cup.
On the mattress lies a woman who has just made it into motherhood. Mariam Katono, 18, arrived here the previous night. She had traveled three miles in company of Bilali Kakaire, her husband. “I began feeling labour pains soon after the 7 o’clock news. I tried to push from home but I failed. My husband then put me on the bicycle up to here,” she says. “It’s a baby boy. He is my first born, the nurses were good to me and I did not get any complications.”
Sarah Mirembe Nabakawa, the only midwife has been serving at the facility for one and a half years now. Despite the common stories of ignoring patients due to lack of gloves, syringes and other basics, Katono was lucky. There was enough stock of these.
“The askari came to my house at 10p.m. I had to come and see the patient since I’m the only one. She had a normal delivery perhaps because she used to come for ante-natal services,” Nabakawa said.
The medical personnel say the patients either share the mattress or use it in turns. We at times ask them to vacate the bed for only the new babies. “She was lucky, the time she came in some patients had just been discharged. She has had the mattress to herself alone; throughout the night up to now. It is the only mattress we have so they share it. I work on a minimum of six mothers daily.”
Ms Nabakawa says, “Professionally, a patient is supposed to receive an injection while lying down. But here, we ask them to touch the wall while standing. It is very risky especially with children.”
The district nursing officer, Maria Najjemba seems, however, determined to uphold the oath of her profession, “save life at all costs”. “There are two delivery beds in Magada Health Centre. We should give one to Nkombe,” she said. “The problems with women here (Mayuge) is that they don’t want to go to hospitals. They keep telling medical officers that unless a ‘sacrifice’ is made in the hospital, they cannot go there. They fear to die immediately they are admitted.”
The district health officer, Mayuge, Dr Charles Nabangi, says out of the 41 health centres in the district, Nkombe Health Centre II is so far well staffed with seven people ( a nursing officer, a mid wife, two nursing assistants, an askari and two porters).
Mayuge District is one of the highly impoverished districts in the country. The district which harbours a 40,000 population has only a two per cent supply of water and electricity. The fertility rate is evidently high. The poor road network just worsens the patients’ plight given that the few active health centres are an average of 7.5 miles apart.
“We have a bicycle which serves as a community ambulance. It is an ordinary bicycle modified into a three-wheel to accommodate a patient and enable them travel while lying down,” Buziba said. Tales are told of how women deliver along the road.
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Aggrey Baggile, also the area Member of Parliament launched the maternity ward built by the Busoga Forestry Company. The company managing director, Isaac Kapalaga said: “People are not just committed to changing lives. All the needs of these facilities are basic. We pledge to provide solar panel, delivery bed to add on the maternity ward, mattresses and the beds.”
Even if the company promised a solar panel and a delivery bed, patients will still have to buy their own fuel for lighting and mothers due will have to endure the cold on the floor before these items arrive later in the year.