Doctors at Soroti hospital separating the twins
Joyce Alinga, a 21-year-old resident of Aujongor village, Obalanga sub-county in Kapelebyong district, gave birth to conjoined twins in Amuria health centre IV in Amuria district in 2021.
The health officials referred the case to Soroti regional referral hospital, but the doctors at Mulago national referral hospital were too busy to attend to them in time.
When the twins had come back, they discovered some organs were being shared while others were not. The doctors in Soroti hospital redrew their plans and decided to operate on the twins.
The National Medical Stores (NMS) was at the centre of this successful miracle, providing them with gauze, cotton, some of the anaesthetic drugs and switches that were used in the operation.
This operation underscores the role of a robust medical supply system in saving lives. Dr Cuthbert Joseph Epodoi, a senior consultant surgeon and urologist at Soroti hospital says medical personnel need to be creative in management of medical supplies to avoid wastage or unnecessary referrals.
“It is true that there are shortcomings here and there in terms of medical supplies due to budget constraints but you might find that one item can do different things,” he says.
“Let us not become fixated.”
While thinking outside the box, Dr. Epodoi says there are some peculiar drugs, which people need that cannot be used anywhere, for example switcher materials.
“Some surgeons would prefer specific switchers for specific outcomes,” he says, “but for us, we used that which was available.”
“We really want to thank the NMS, at least in this hospital here; we had all the basics we needed for the operations,” states Dr. Epodoi.
Source: The Observer
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