Gulu Regional Referral Hospital treatment center is not allowing any more Covid-19 patients and has so far turned down 24 from Kitgum District after running out of space.
According to William Komakech, the Kitgum RDC, also the Covid-19 task-Force chairperson, the rejected patients have now self-isolated in their homes.
In Gulu, the surveillance and case management team is also stuck with over 30 patients in the community after the treatment centre ran out of space for new admissions.
Government expanded the Tuberculosis ward at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital to a 74 bed-capacity COVID-19 treatment unit. However, the facility is currently treating an excess of 123 patients. Also, the treatment facility admits at least five patients every day who are mainly evacuated from the districts of Pader, Gulu, Amuru, Omoro, Lamwo, Kitgum, Nwoya and Agago.
Now, Kitgum RDC says the patients, who are from Kitgum municipality, haven’t received any treatment for the past four days since their results were returned by the Health Ministry and when they tried to seek help from Gulu, they were turned away.
Komakech noted that the situation is worrying. He has called for urgent intervention by the Health Ministry to contain further spread of the virus within the community.
Kitgum General Hospital treatment center has only 20 beds and this was established at the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak in April this year.
However, the Acting Medical Superintendent Kitgum General Hospital Dr. Geoffrey Okello who also heads the Covid-19 case management, says they are unable to commence treatment as they await guidance from the Ministry of Health.
Adding that there is need for urgent guidance by the Health Ministry on the current situation and what ought to be done.
The Director Gulu Regional Referral Hospital Dr. James Elima, confirmed that they are no longer admitting more patients because of lack of space. Explaining that the treatment unit with a capacity for 40 patients is now crowded with 123 Covid-19 patients from all corners of the Acholi sub-region.
