COVID-19: Butabika Hospital overwhelmed by patient numbers

COVID-19    HEALTH

Butabika Hospital is financially constrained due to the increased number of patients flocking the hospital since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic .

This has been revealed by the acting executive director of the hospital, Juliet Nakku while appearing before the public accounts committee chaired by Budadiri West Member of Parliament to respond to the auditor general's queries for 2018/2019 financial year.

Nakku informed MPs that the hospital has a capacity of 550 beds but  during the pandemic this number increased to 950 and later to over 1,000.

She says that the increased number of patients was as a result of the closure of all the other mental health units in the country, the stress many people were undergoing at the time and patients who refused to leave the hospital.

Nakku also says that the outbreak left their staff stressed, as they had to work long hours.