Caretakers of kidney patients requiring dialysis at Mulago National Referral Hospital are crying out that there is increased waiting time for the life-stabilizing medical procedure after the hospital management allegedly suspended the provision of this care at night.
Dialysis refers to using a special machine to remove waste and excess fluid from the body.
Patients and caretakers at the dialysis unit narrated that there were not healthcare workers providing care to some patients at night, even with the large numbers of patients handled there.
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“I arrived here at 6:30 am today, but my patient has not been handled yet. This has not been happening; the cause of the delay is the suspension of the night shift because there are so many patients that need to be handled,” a frustrated caretaker said.
“This is not about the payment because we paid money yesterday [Monday]. Some people came here last [Monday] night, but they have not yet been handled up to now,” she added.
Another patient alleged that the management suspended the night shift because of rumors that the health workers were using the opportunity to extort money from patients.
“It was wrong for the management to rely on rumors. Even at night, we pay the same charges—Shs150,000 per dialysis session. These are committed healthcare workers; administrators are frustrating their work,” the patient, who preferred anonymity to speak freely, alleged.
When the Patient Affairs Desk of the facility was approached, the officer declined to comment. Highly placed sources within the facility said the management received reports that some health workers were extorting money from patients who were coming for dialysis at night.
The source also said the management is concerned that during the night shift, sometimes no doctor is supervising the work of nurses and other care providers at the unit, which may “become a serious issue” if a patient dies during dialysis at night.
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