Stakeholders have raised a red flag over a surge in maternal and newborn deaths attributed to the perceived neglect of expecting mothers at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.
The outrage was sparked by a recent incident involving a 26-year-old mother who passed away with a twin pregnancy after experiencing a three-day delay.
Harriet Muduwa, a teacher by profession and a resident of Malare in Mbale City, was admitted on Saturday, July 13, referred from Busiu Health Center IV with clear signs of labor.
Jenifer Lunyolo, the attendant, claims she spent over sha170,000 on buying medicines and medical supplies.
She further claimed to have advanced an additional shs200,000 as a tip to a medical worker to secure an operation on her daughter-in-law, to no avail.
"The medic asked for 'kyayi' of shs200,000 , which I provided, but then he told me he could not proceed due to a lack of blood, suggesting that it could be purchased from a donor with matching blood," Lunyolo recounted.
The patient was reportedly neglected until she tragically passed away on Tuesday evening with the babies still in her womb.
Aisha Mutonyi , the Secretary of Health for Mbale City Council, condemned the conduct of medical workers, stating that "neglecting mothers" is unacceptable.
However, the head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Dr.Jude Mulowooza dismissed the claims of neglect, noting that patients frequently need to purchase their medicines due to stock shortages arising from inconsistent supplies from the National Medical Stores.
Attendants to other patients revealed to this reporter that a mama kit goes for shs18000.
"There was no neglect because the midwives received the mother and the senior doctors saw her on more than three occasions and documented," Dr. Mulowooza said .
"The issue of supplies is a big challenge and it has been a challenge for the last three months for both emergency and non-emergency commodities."
By press time National Medical Stores (NMS) had just delivered a consignment for the last quarter of the 2023/24 financial year (April, May, and June).
Explaining the tragic outcome, Dr. Mulowoza who is a consultant confirmed the twin pregnancy saying the mother was allowed to go through the labor process given her stable condition during admission.
However, she suffered a stillbirth losing both babies.
Subsequently, the mother was given more time to push the dead babies.
"We explained to the family the unfortunate situation, we re-assessed the mother and we indeed confirmed that this mother should be allowed to push these (dead) babies because there was no immediate indication for her to be operated on," Dr. Mulowoza said.
Meanwhile, the mother's condition deteriorated with adverse complications, specifically compromised blood and platelet levels, high blood pressure, and impaired breathing, which prompted immediate surgery.
The head of the department asserted that the urgent operation needed to save the mother's life was impeded by a lack of blood and platelets.
"The attempt to get those blood products was not successful and so we lost the mother," Mulowoza said.
However, his claim is contrasted by that of the regional blood bank director, Dr. Ahmed Bumba, who confirmed the availability of blood and platelets.
Asserting that the blood bank has not turned down any emergency request.
The hospital has recorded five deaths in just one week, compared to a monthly average of four deaths over the past 12 months.
The head of the department highlighted key challenges impeding efficient care, including an overwhelming number of mothers and late reporting compounded by delays from stockouts, understaffing, and a narrow theater that accommodates a single operating bed.
To emphasize the struggles faced in delivering mothers, Mulowoza highlighted the situation at press time, where 10 mothers were lined up for surgery.
"An operation takes 30 minutes to an hour, so it means the tenth patient is going to wait for at least seven hours," he said adding that the department is reaching out to lower health facilities to build their capacity to handle caesarian deliveries to reduce the number of referral and associated pressure on the regional referral hospital.
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However, another source who preferred anonymity attributed the problem to absenteeism by specialists.
In 2016, the Ministry of Health embarked on the construction of a 260-bed capacity surgical complex aimed at addressing the infrastructural challenges at the referral hospital.
The envisioned surgical complex was designed to include seven new wards, nine operating theatres, a casualty ward, and a 20-bed intensive care unit (ICU), intending to expand the hospital's capacity to provide specialist surgical services.
However, its completion has been impeded by a lack of sustained funding.
Serving approximately 4.5 million people across 16 districts and one city in eastern Uganda, Mbale RRH stands as one of the busiest regional hospitals in the country.
The hospital handled 7,816 deliveries in the past 12 months and currently has five Obstetrics and Gynecology specialists in addition to other lower cadre staff.
The staffing of the department stands at 30%, according to the head of the department.
