Butabika Hospital facing shortage of essential supplies

Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital is facing a challenge of essential supplies due to the overwhelming number of patients with mental illness.

According to the head of Clinical Services at Butabika Hospital, Dr Harriet Birabwa Oketcho, there has been an increase in the number of patients with mental health challenges since the COVID-19 epidemic.

“Currently, we are looking after over 1000 patients, and their needs are very high. The increase in the number of patients with mental health challenges is due to depression, stress, anxiety, and substance abuse,” disclosed Oketcho.

Much as the Government supports the hospital with essential items, Oketcho noted that” if you are dealing with mental patients and their distractive rate is very high, you will find that things such as beddings, blankets may not be enough.”

From left to right: Florence Aliru, Ag principal nursing officer, Florence Baguma, senior nursing officer and Dr Harriet Birabwa Oketcho, receive essential items donated by students from SMACK during the hand over at Butabika Hospital on September 12, 2023. Photo by Juliet Kasirye

Currently, the facility is short of blankets, mattresses and soap among other domestic needs, she added.

She made the remarks  while receiving  a consignment donated to the hospital  from St Mary’s College Kisubi donated items worth sh1.4m

The items include blankets, toothpaste, toothbrushes, boxes of soap, and toiletries among others.

“We always appreciate any little things that can be done to help our patients. Since some of our patients come from the streets, and those with relatives may not even be visited here, the hospital has to provide clothes. Therefore, any kind of support for these valuable people is welcome,” explained Oketcho.

About the donation

The SMACK president Liberalis Audientis , Paul Ocailap Ouma, said, through the students, they agreed to save the excess money in efforts to transform patients’ lives positively.

“We are a group of six students  who agreed to save  money to finance needs of the disadvantaged and believe saving as a team, we can make a difference,” explained Ouma.

Since students want Liberalis Audientis Club to be a high school organization, Ouma hopes to spread the gospel of the Club of creating awareness about mental illness in other schools countrywide so that students take the lead in supporting valuable people with different mental health disorders.

According to Gerald Musinguzi, a senior three student at SMACK, Liberalis Audientis is a mental health awareness group pioneered by students with the aim of spreading mental health awareness and donating to the needy.

Since Butabika Hospital encompasses the objectives of the club, Musinguzi said, they have donated a few items to help those in need of additional support to live and stay comfortable with the issues they face while at the facility.

Musinguzi, said: “I shared the idea of reaching out to vulnerable mental health patients with my friends after seeing naked people wandering around the hospital. Since I was a resident of Butabika, I felt so sad about it. Therefore, as a group, we decided to collect a few donations amongst ourselves at school.”

Causes of mental illness

Though many people think about mental illness as madness, Oketcho indicated that some causes of mental illness may be genetic and run in the family or maybe as a result of physical illness such as HIV, tumors, imbalances within chemicals, within the brain, and imbalances of hormones, relationships, divorce, drugs, and alcohol.

According to Oketcho, the way you cope with challenges sometimes determines whether you are going to get a mental illness or not. Emphasising that some people's personalities and upbringing may affect the way they relate.

Testimony of a caretaker

After the donation, while interacting with a caretaker who preferred anonymity, she said, recently, it seems relationship stress and divorce are some of the leading causes of mental illness.

“I am looking after a relative, but her mind has declined to accept that her husband married someone. Though she had stayed with her husband for 17 years, when she saw the pictures, she started saying uncoordinated things. Whenever we go for review, she says, she is not mad, rather she just feels jealous that her husband left her for someone else.”

According to the Ministry of Health and Uganda Counseling Association, it is estimated that 14 million Ugandans suffer from a form of mental disorder.