Relatives desert patients in Butabika hospital

By Sarah Nakamwa        

When patients are admitted to hospital hospital family and relatives keep on their knees praying for them to get well; but, the story in Butabika National Referral Hospital is different, they are abandoned.

Vivian Gaffa, 42, who lived in Ntinda, was brought to the hospital by her sister-in-law, Harriet Gaffa and brother, Edwin Gaffa, who works with Nile Breweries and lives in jinja. They abandoned her last year.

The doctor says Vivian is now fine and ready to go home but her family members have not picked her.

“They say they are organizing for me a place to stay and think I am a burden; maybe, that is why they don’t feel like picking me up,” Vivian said.

She spends her time at the hospital premises making table clothes and caps. She gives them to the nurses, who give her the materials for making these items.

The ward nurse where Vivian stays says she is fine, ready to go home, but when her relatives are called, they keep saying they are still organizing a place for her.

This reporter reached one of Gaffa's relatives who said, “All her relatives neglected her; no one wants to live with Vivian because of her fighting and thinking that the family is her problem, I love her so much that’s why I am planning for her a place to live.”

Behind the closed doors of this serene environment thousands are treated annually for mental disorders.

Gaffa though thinks staying at the hospital would be good for her since she has people to speak to than at home where she would be alone. 

“There is a lot of stigma towards the mentally sick; people do not understand it, so when a relative falls sick, automatically there is rejection and abandonment,” said Dr. David Basangwa, the executive director Butabika hospital.

The Police and community authorities usually identify mentally sick people destructing peace on the street and deliver theem to the hospital.

However after treatment discharging them is a challenge; most are not followed up by relatives. 

“Before we discharge a patient we ought to meet the relatives or the community to prepare them for this person which is not possible sometimes,” Basangwa added.

Sometimes the hospital finds means of reaching them home, but finds a lot of rejection; many believe mental sickness can’t heal. They create a situation for them to be back in the hospital.

The long-stay wards were closed, where they used to keep them for long and strengthened the Community and Recovery Department that tresses their roots for re-integration.

Dr. Basangwa says some of those from the streets are homeless, that is why the hospital has a team that tresses their background.

Phylis Pimunda, a mother of two, was picked from Jinja Road by the police. The husband, Soniya, visited her once and her people in Kenya don’t know where she is.

“I have been in this hospital for three years and six months now,” Pimunda said.

“The Police picked me from the streets; my home rejected me a long time ago where should I go?” said one of the patients. 

“We believe every person belongs to a certain community; we try to find the family members, educate and advice them to live with these people. Resettlement is expensive and sometimes fails,”  Basangwa noted..

Dr. Basangwa called the media to inform and educate the public that these people are okay if treated and ready to live in society.

"The hospital has a capacity of 550 in-patients; however, there are more than 780 now, which constrains the hospital budget. 400 are under care, 200 in the process of recovery and about 150 have recovered."

Nassuna Rebecca is among the about 75 abandoned patients.

“Fight for me to leave; I am tired of this place,” said Nassuna who was brought by her mother Rachael Nansubuga from Watuba, Kyadondo. 

The hospital treats 46-50 thousand mentally sick on average per year (in-patient and outpatient), with 13 wards coordinated by the nursing staff.

Butabika handles many cases of mental care because of the awareness created and the Mulago ward is partially closed down for rehabilitation.

What could be the causes of mental illness? 

Dr. Damalia Namubiru says the main cause of mental illness is not known but there are contributing factors that can lead to it.

Mental illnesses can run in families, passing on from parents to children through genes.

Genes contain instructions for the function of each cell in the body and are responsible for how we look, act, think, etc.

“However, just because your mother or father may have or had a mental illness, doesn't mean you will have one,” Namubiru noted..

It is linked to an abnormal balance of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters which help nerve cells of the brain to communicate with each other, so when not working properly, messages may not make it through the brain correctly, leading to symptoms of mental illness.

“Some mental illnesses may be triggered by psychological trauma suffered as a child, such as severe emotional, physical, or sexual abuse; a significant early loss, such as the loss of a parent, and neglect” she added.

Stressing environment can trigger a disorder in a person who may be at risk for developing a mental illness.

Accidents may cause damage to an individual when injured, a clot may develop in the brain and lead to mental illness.