By Melanie Aanyu,

Mbale Regional Referral Hospital is choking from the overwhelming number of patients turning up for treatment.

The most affected are the outpatient department-OPD, the pediatrics, the obstetrics and gynecology, and the casualty wards.

Several patients receiving treatment in the casualty ward sleep on the verandah due to lack of space.

In the children’s ward, many patients sleep on the waiting benches.
A patient who only Identified himself as Kadyama from Budaka district and his wife said that they had spent three days at the casualty ward.

They said from the time they arrived, they have been receiving treatment from the waiting bench and sleeping in the cold due to lack of space.

Mbale Regional Referral Hospital has a capacity of 400-beds.

However, there are currently more than 500 patients in the facility.

Dr. Emmanuel Tugaineyo, the Director of Mbale Regional Referral Hospital said the huge number of patients is straining the available workforce, especially the nurses who attend to the patients.

He says that the majority of the nurses suffer back pain as a result of the heavy workload, which calls for additional manpower.

He says that the obstetrics and gynecology departments are among the busiest where patients share beds due to space problems.