Tororo General Referral Hospital is under investigation after the tragic deaths of two babies in the Neonatal Unit. The Tororo Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Albert Amula, has initiated an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the heartbreaking incident.
Amula, accompanied by a team of district leaders, visited the government hospital and was dismayed to discover that the babies had died in the daytime due to the alleged negligence of medical workers. Preliminary investigations suggest that the infants suffocated to death in the presence of their parents, with no health worker on duty during the critical moments.
Expressing his concern, Amula remarked, “We are saddened by the incident because this is the only government hospital where people expect to get the best service. This embarrassment may make patients shun coming to the facility to have safe deliveries.”
Hospital insiders revealed that the absence of a medical officer on duty led to a distressing situation where the babies remained on oxygen throughout the day. The nurse who worked the night shift had left, assuming her colleague would promptly take over, leaving the infants unattended.
A grieving parent, who wished to remain anonymous, shared her heart-wrenching experience, stating, “I’m optimistic that my baby would have survived if I went elsewhere to have delivered. It’s our prayer that the government takes over the case to make this place safe for deliveries.”
A whistleblower raised concerns about hospital staff allegedly abandoning their duties, particularly during the festive season. According to the whistleblower, “During daytime, most of the medical workers mysteriously disappear, leaving the patients in the hands of interns and volunteer nurses.”
Tororo District education and health secretary, Noah Ukumu, questioned the integrity of the officer scheduled to be on duty and expressed dismay at the loss of lives at the hospital.
Tororo Hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr. Thomas Ochar, issued an apology for the tragic incident and pledged to conduct a thorough audit into the fatalities. However, Dr. Ochar urgently called upon the government to address the staff shortage at the hospital, emphasizing that the Neonatal Unit, within the maternity wing, requires full-time attention.
“The maternity wing where the Neonatal Unit falls only has 7 nurses, and on the day when the incident happened, 2 of them had lost their relatives. Two were on their annual leave, one was sick, while the one who was supposed to be on duty failed to turn up,” explained Dr. Ochar. He appealed for swift action to relieve the hospital’s staffing challenges, stressing the constitutional right of patients to access adequate health services.
