Govt issues conditions over hospital mattresses
Oct 28, 2014
GOVERNMENT has issued tight conditions to hospital directors over the recently procured 8,141 mattresses for general hospitals and health Centre IVs
By David Lumu
GOVERNMENT has issued tight conditions to hospital directors over the recently procured 8,141 mattresses for general hospitals and health Centre IVs.
Minister of state for general duties, Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye said that Government issued guidelines to health facilities and Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) to monitor the delivery of these mattresses and also ensure that they are not sold off or diverted for other purposes.
“We want RDCs to monitor the delivery and also ensure that these mattresses are not stolen or diverted by hospital staff and other people. We have labeled them and if we get or find any hospital staff selling these mattresses or diverting them for other purposes, the law will take its course,” he said.
“I appeal to all health facility managers to handle these facilities appropriately and keep them safe for use by the patients.”
On her part, Jane Aceng the director general of health services warned health workers to protect the mattresses from damage by allowing blood to spillover them.
“Health workers must protect the mattresses from damage and infection by not allowing blood to spillover,” she said.
According to Moses Kamabare, the general manager of the National Medical Stores (NMS), by the end of November the 8,141 mattresses will have been distributed to forty six general hospitals and 173 Health Centre IVs in all the districts of the country.
NMS procured the mattresses using sh1.25b that Government allocated in the 2013\14 financial year.
Megha Industries (U) Ltd, the manufactures of royal foam mattresses is the company Government contracted.
Tumwesigye, who flagged off the distribution of these mattresses yesterday at NMS headquarters at Entebbe, said that Government procured these mattresses to respond to assessments done by legislators on the Committee of Health who toured health facilities in the country and found out that patients were sleeping on the floor.
“With the distributions of these mattresses we anticipate that patients would not be sleeping on the floor anymore. We are also aware that most hospitals have no beds but next financial year Government will allocate money for the procurement of additional beds in our Government facilities,” he said, thanking President Yoweri Museveni for facilitating the health sector.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative, Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu said that it was a good gesture for Government to solve “minimum requirements” of hospitals.