By KT Reporter
Kotido district has received a new ambulance aimed at enhancing emergency medical services in the region.
The Class B ambulance was procured by the Ministry of Health for Jie Constituency. It is equipped with a Patient Monitoring Machine, an Oxygen Cylinder, a Blood Pressure Machine, a Glucometer, and a fuel card for fueling the vehicle.
Since May this year, referring patients for specialised and emergency services was paralysed, leaving medics in a dilemma as vulnerable communities struggled to raise money to hire a vehicle to take a patient to Matany or Moroto Regional Referral Hospital for specialised services.
Last month, Jenifer Nyanga, a mother from Napeikar Village in Lokwasinyon settlement in Kacheri Sub County, died while giving birth to a newborn before reaching a health facility due to a lack of an ambulance and a bad state of the road.
She was being transported 27 kilometres on a boda boda from her hard-to-reach settlement to the nearest Lobanya Health Centre II.
Stella Amongin of Entebbe Area in Kotido Municipality expressed excitement about the news of the ambulance, saying more lives will be saved as patients in an emergency can be transported to the hospital with ease.
She said that it will also eliminate the risks of transporting critically ill patients on boda bodas, which are slow, uncomfortable, and dangerous.
While handing over the ambulance on Thursday to the management of Kotido General Hospital on behalf of Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, Jie County MP Peter Abrahams Lokii called on hospital management to ensure proper management of the ambulance to serve its intended purpose.
He noted with concern that the incompetence of the drivers had cost the district 2 ambulances, referring to the one that crashed in November 2024 and another in May.
Dr. Cerino Achar, the DHO of Kotido, said the ambulance will go a long way in improving health service delivery, more so on the referral system. He noted that the department has set aside a budget to manage the new ambulance effectively for service delivery-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
