Buluba Hospital History
The local hospital is St. Francis Hospital, Buluba Hospital. St. Francis hospital is a medical facility belonging to the Catholic diocese of Jinja. It's a rural hospital in the Eastern part of the country.
St.Francis Hospital was started in 1934 by Mother Kevin of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa as a center to care for Leprosy patients. Later on, the Franciscan missionary sisters handed over ownership of the hospital to the Jinja diocese which delegated the managing functions to the Little Sisters of St. Francis, a religious organization. Over the years the hospital gained expertise with national and international recognition as a specialized center for Leprosy and Tuberculosis treatment. They also have developed one of the countries few prostetic units.
POPULATION SERVED
The hospital is the only general hospital in Mayuge district. Its immediate area is in Bunya West with a population of 133,350. The district population is 388,052. Nevertheless, many patients come from other neighboring districts for care in Buluba Hospital.
CHALLENGES
The hospital is situated in a rural country side where it serves heavily poor communities. Almost all the people can not afford the care in the big cities. It receives over 35,000 out patient attendances. These are many, but on the side of hospital equipment and supplies, the transition from specialized leprosy center to a general hospital meant an additional need of equipment and supplies but the hospital was not in a financial position to meet the need.
The hospital has the following services:
- Out patient services includes, general Out-Patient Diagnosis consultations, Antenatal (diagnosis of birth defects), Prevention of mother to child HIV transmission (PMTC), daily immunization and health talks, daily HIV counseling and testing, Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART), specialized skin clinic. TB/Leprosy clinic, Orthopedic services, rehabilitative services especially for Leprosy, including making prosthesis.
- In Patient care includes, medical and surgical services, maternity services, Leprosy patients, TB care services, and other auxiliary services - laboratory, pharmacy, and physical therapy.