The 44 years of New Mulago Hospital
Oct 15, 2006
Have you ever imagined that New Mulago Hospital was ‘born’ around the same time as the independent state of Uganda?
Have you ever imagined that New Mulago Hospital was ‘born’ around the same time as the independent state of Uganda? Well, a week after the first independence celebrations, many Ugandans trekked to Mulago to watch the Duchess of Kent officially open the hospital, on October 16 – exactly 44 years ago today.
She had this to say: “This new building is truly a monument to the friendship existing between the people of Uganda and the Great Britain and perhaps no better moment could have been chosen for its opening than at this time when Uganda is celebrating its newly achieved independenceâ€. The new structure was meant to enable the hospital, founded in 1913 by Sir Albert Cook as a venerial clinic, provide better services.
Mulago Hospital gained international reputation in the 1970s-80s despite political instability and economic collapse but experienced even better times after 1987 when partners like World Bank, French Government, Health Volunteers Overseas, USAID, AVSI, British Red Cross and others came in to help. Forty-four years down the road, it’s time asses whether the £2.3m which was injected into the construction of the Hospital has produced any result.
The Department of Surgery provides General, Traumatic and Emergency Surgery, Orthopaedics, ENT (Ear Nose & Throat), Urology, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Colon and Rectal Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Burns, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Cardiothoracic surgery, Breast and Endocrinology.
The Department of Medicine encompasses general and internal medicine including Diabetic Clinic management of Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, Oncology and HIV/AIDS.
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has the Obsectric section which deals with antenatal care, management of complicated pregnancy, labour and post natal care. The gynaecology sections deals with infertility, management of gynaecological diseases and complications, family planning and infertility. The department delivers about 27,000 mothers each year. It has its own theatres on the fifth floor and a voluntary surgical contraceptives theatre in Upper Mulago where the Family Planning Clinics are also located.
The hospital has a well developed Nuclear Medicine Unit, a speciality where radio isotopes are used in the diagnosis and treatment of some diseases.
The diagnostic facility does imaging of various organs of the body using of a Gamma Camera-Computer system and detection of various substances in the body fluids by use of radioimmunoassay methods. It does bone scan, thyroid scan, liver scan, renal scan, heart scan, brain scan, GIT bleeding identification scan, testicular scan, tumour or cancer identification scan, and lymphatic scan.
The Radiology Department offers specialised radiological services like general radiographic procedures, CT scan, Mammography, Fluoroscopy, contrast radiology, ultrasonography, interventional radiology, angiography and Radiotherapy used for treating breast, cervical and other solid tumours.
The Paediatrics and Child Health Department has specialist clinics in Sickle Cell Anaemia, Infectious Diseases, Diarrhoea, Cerebral Palsy and Special Care Unit for neonates. The Acute Unit admits 50-80 very ill children as emergencies daily.
The Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) treats and prevents heart diseases, the Renal Unit which handles kidney-related and receives 10-15 patients per week, the upgraded laboratories, and the Cancer Institute which treats Breast Cancer, Burkitts Lymphoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma. There is cause to rejoice.
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She had this to say: “This new building is truly a monument to the friendship existing between the people of Uganda and the Great Britain and perhaps no better moment could have been chosen for its opening than at this time when Uganda is celebrating its newly achieved independenceâ€. The new structure was meant to enable the hospital, founded in 1913 by Sir Albert Cook as a venerial clinic, provide better services.
Mulago Hospital gained international reputation in the 1970s-80s despite political instability and economic collapse but experienced even better times after 1987 when partners like World Bank, French Government, Health Volunteers Overseas, USAID, AVSI, British Red Cross and others came in to help. Forty-four years down the road, it’s time asses whether the £2.3m which was injected into the construction of the Hospital has produced any result.
The Department of Surgery provides General, Traumatic and Emergency Surgery, Orthopaedics, ENT (Ear Nose & Throat), Urology, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Colon and Rectal Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Burns, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Cardiothoracic surgery, Breast and Endocrinology.
The Department of Medicine encompasses general and internal medicine including Diabetic Clinic management of Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, Oncology and HIV/AIDS.
The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has the Obsectric section which deals with antenatal care, management of complicated pregnancy, labour and post natal care. The gynaecology sections deals with infertility, management of gynaecological diseases and complications, family planning and infertility. The department delivers about 27,000 mothers each year. It has its own theatres on the fifth floor and a voluntary surgical contraceptives theatre in Upper Mulago where the Family Planning Clinics are also located.
The hospital has a well developed Nuclear Medicine Unit, a speciality where radio isotopes are used in the diagnosis and treatment of some diseases.
The diagnostic facility does imaging of various organs of the body using of a Gamma Camera-Computer system and detection of various substances in the body fluids by use of radioimmunoassay methods. It does bone scan, thyroid scan, liver scan, renal scan, heart scan, brain scan, GIT bleeding identification scan, testicular scan, tumour or cancer identification scan, and lymphatic scan.
The Radiology Department offers specialised radiological services like general radiographic procedures, CT scan, Mammography, Fluoroscopy, contrast radiology, ultrasonography, interventional radiology, angiography and Radiotherapy used for treating breast, cervical and other solid tumours.
The Paediatrics and Child Health Department has specialist clinics in Sickle Cell Anaemia, Infectious Diseases, Diarrhoea, Cerebral Palsy and Special Care Unit for neonates. The Acute Unit admits 50-80 very ill children as emergencies daily.
The Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) treats and prevents heart diseases, the Renal Unit which handles kidney-related and receives 10-15 patients per week, the upgraded laboratories, and the Cancer Institute which treats Breast Cancer, Burkitts Lymphoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma. There is cause to rejoice.
Ends