Comic Relief, a major UK donor funding organisation, announced its intention to deliver a brand new, life-changing project on a scale never contemplated before by the organisation.
They wanted to completely redesign, rebuild and equip a dilapidated level 3 hospital clinic in the village of Lyolwa, one of the most remote areas of Southeast Uganda, in just 5 weeks.
We were brought into the project to provide strategic advice, medical equipment, medical consultancy, training support and a complete rebuild of a level 3 medical clinic.
Lyolwa had the main healthcare facility for 20,000 people living in remote village communities in and around the district.
The clinic served 1,450 patients a month through a small outpatient department and maternity unit. Patients typically presented with TB, HIV and malaria, and the clinic was also responsible for treating trauma injuries.
The clinic was in an extremely bad state of disrepair with fears that vermin infestations would cause infectious diseases. The maternity unit was found in an incredibly poor state, and the clinicians were still expected to deal with routine, non-surgical deliveries, as well as running a limited post-natal service. It had no running or clean water, sterilisation equipment or electrical power.
The medical equipment was outdated with many critical items damaged or broken. Pregnant patients were forced to give birth under torchlight from the delivery nurses’ mobile phones. And patient numbers had declined because of the facilities poor reputation and the community took much longer journeys to other hospitals in the region, or remained at home and received no treatment, rather than risk infection from a visit to the centre.
We took the two existing separate block buildings and converted them into a single pitched roof facility, greatly expanding the available floor space. While work was underway, we built and staffed a temporary clinic using prefabricated units and sent a team of professional medical trainers from the UK to train the clinical team on the new equipment and on advanced medical techniques in pre-hospital care.
The project also aimed to provide the site with clean running water, roof-mounted solar panels and clinical waste removal. So we also offered technical solutions for water, power, sewage/waste, roofing, and equipment sterilisation.
By engaging local workforces and regional supplies to support the project, we overcame the natural challenges of the project to deliver on time and under budget. The result was the delivery of a healthcare solution, meeting international standards, in a remote part of East Africa.
Since the hospital’s opening the patient numbers have increased by 500%. The local community has adopted the clinic as their own and spends a lot of time maintaining and improving the site at their own expense. It has been deemed a success by all stakeholders and, particularly, the local community.