Uganda - Campaign to End Fistula

12Population served by Mbarara Teaching HospitalDistrict Males Females TotalMbarara 537,672 555,716 1,093,388Ntungamo 182,645 197,164 379,809Bushenyi 356,932 381,423 738,355Total 1,077,249 1,134,303 2,211,552Uganda Population and Housing Census – Preliminary Report 2002RecommendationMbarara Teaching Hospital should be facilitated to start a centre for service andtraining in VVF management so that its products are well prepared to fight VVFmorbidity.5.8 Fort Portal Referral HospitalThis hospital serves Kasese, Bundibugyo, Kamwenge, Kyenjojo and Kabarole districts.There is only one gynaecologist and has performed only two VVF repairs in the 2002with 50% success. He had no exposure during postgraduate training and learns throughself-instruction. He has not been able to carry out a lot of surgery because of shortage ofNursing Staff and attributes the break-down of one of the repaired VVF due to lack ofstaff and poor nursing post-operatively. He maintains that there are many VVF patientsin the community but that they do not come to hospital because they are not assistedimmediately or expeditiously. Many patients come and are worked on while those withVVF continue to wait endless. When the patients are discharged and asked to come againthey do not return and the problem of leakage of urine is a domestic shame shared by thepatient and probably her mother.At Virika a nearby Missionary Hospital, a gynaecologist had not settled down to organise hissurgery as he had just returned from study leave. He too thinks there are many patients fromKasese and Kamwenge districts.Population served by Fort Portal Regional Referral HospitalDistrict Males Females TotalKabarole 181,629 179,162 360,791Bundibugyo 102,852 108,764 211,616Kasese 259,012 271,006 530,018Kamwenge 130,422 136,880 267,302Kyenjojo 189,798 190,7442 380,540Total 2,575,709 2,627,596 5,203,305Uganda Population and Housing Census – Preliminary Report 2002While there are hopes that the theatre at Fort Portal hospital will be renovated, the present singleoperating room gives little chance for VVF repair, bearing in mind the possible presence of othermore urgent operations. Therefore, is not suitable for a regional VVF training and service centre,unless all elective operations are suspended for that period.