Severe Overcrowding Forces Multiple Babies to Share Beds at Nalufenya Hospital

Nalufenya Children’s Hospital in Jinja is facing a severe healthcare crisis, with extreme overcrowding forcing up to five babies to share a single bed and critically ill children to be treated in hospital corridors. Operating as a specialised paediatric unit under the Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, the facility is buckling under the weight of ageing infrastructure, severe staff shortages, and soaring patient numbers.

According to hospital statistics, the facility handles between 200 and 300 outpatients every single day while admitting roughly 30 to 40 children daily. Dr Emmanuel Tenywa, a consultant paediatrician and cardiologist at the hospital, revealed that despite having an official capacity of only 89 beds, admissions frequently surge to around 220 patients.

Dr Tenywa noted that this massive discrepancy severely compromises the delivery of quality healthcare and places immense pressure on the already overstretched medical staff. He has appealed to the government to urgently expand the facility, recruit additional healthcare personnel, renovate condemned staff quarters, and establish a dedicated emergency paediatric ward alongside an intensive care unit for critically ill young patients.

Originally handed over to the government by the Madhvani Group in 2005, the facility’s infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the growing regional demand over the past two decades. Dr Afizi Kibuuka, the Deputy Director of Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, shared that the management board envisions upgrading Nalufenya into a National Specialised Paediatric Hospital to better handle the crisis, though this plan requires substantial state backing.

Recently, the Minister for the Presidency, Ms Milly Babalanda, visited the facility to inspect operations. While praising doctors, nurses, and support staff for their resilience under harsh conditions, she promised to take the pressing concerns directly to the Cabinet for swift intervention.

For more details on this story, read the original report on Daily Monitor.