The Executive Director of Mulago National Referral Hospital Dr Byarugaba Baterana, has today relived critical UPDF doctors, nurses and other experts who have been providing support to the hospital in the fight against COVID-19.
The team has been part of a joint force of medical teams from Mulago National Referral Hospital, Makerere University, Infectious Disease Control Centre, and UPDF, at the front-line to defeat the pandemic.
About 240 UPDF, police and prisons personnel have successfully served at Mulago Hospital since 25th of Mar 2020 86, following a request by the hospital management to bolster operations in the fight against coronavirus.
The move comes after hospital management felt it has been a successful operation following successive recoveries by former coronavirus patients.
According to the Executive Director Mulago National Refferal Hospital Dr. Byarugaba Baterana, out of the twenty three (23) Covid 19 patients admitted at Mulago National referral hospital, 21 have been since discharged while only two (2) remain admitted at the facility. Dr Byarugaba said the two will be discharged as soon as tomorrow.
In a jovial mood Dr. Baterana thanked the UPDF medical team for working tirelessly with Mulago hospital to disable Covid 19.
“Thank you for being disciplined and for fighting the pandemic, we have together reduced COVID-19 to the minimum, disabled it and actually defeated it with a heavy blow. You can now be baptized as ‘COVID defeaters’ in this hospital and Medals of victory awaits you” Said the ED.
the head of Mulago requested the leadership of UPDF to consider deploying the team in other critical centers of National Referral including the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Neurology, criminology and others to further the experience that they have acquired.
The UPDF head of medical services Maj General Dr Ambrose Musinguzi promised that the team from Mulago and others in UPDF will now be sent out to assist District Task Forces in the fight against the pandemic.
Dr Rosemary observed that because of discipline, the entire team of physicians, medical officers, laboratorians, nurses and clinicians worked harmoniously in case management and surveillance.
She called on UPDF medical team to remain a call away in case of any more Upsurge of the pandemic.
Maj General Dr Ambrose Musinguzi reminded Ugandans that it is UPDF’s constitutional mandate to support the civil authority in case of any catastrophe, and the COVID-19 pandemic is one of such.
He commended the foresightedness of the UPDF leadership for training the initial 86 UPDF medics and later sensitizing the strategic leadership on the fight against Covid 19 way back before the disease set a foot in Uganda.