for interest...

Bwindi Community Health Centre

Bwindi Community Health Centre is a Level 4 Missionary Hospital that began as four outpatient rooms in November 2003 and was officially opened in July 2004. It is funded by donations, although some patients pay for medicines and inpatient stays. It works alongside state-run services that often have few drugs and fewer doctors. There are two main clinical buildings. One consists of a row of rooms that all open onto a covered veranda where patients usually wait to be seen, and where all of the staff gather after the morning ward round to sing songs. At the far end is a room where drugs are dispensed and bills are paid. There is then an outpatient room, usually staffed by a male nurse called Alex, a dental room where Extraction Jackson works, a clinical room for a doctor and a laboratory staffed by Moses and Charles. They have a microscope and the ability to cross match blood, test for HIV, haemoglobin, and several other clinical tests. There is no biochemistry. In the late afternoons staff, patients and others tend to play volleyball opposite the outpatient building, as long as it’s not raining. At the moment it is rainy season and there is a huge downpour for about an hour a day, usually with thunder and lightning.

Across the track from the outpatients is a building where Godfrey the TB and outreach co-ordinator has an office. There are also rooms here where relatives cook for patients and where they sleep. It is all pretty basic, and close to the (under-used) pit latrine.

The other main building is the ward block. It has a delivery room at one end, and a room containing two beds that are used by mothers in labour. More than 90% of births are at home, but as perinatal mortality is so high the Centre wants to encourage inpatient delivery (in addition to working with traditional birth attendants). A midwife called Slyvia works here. There is then an open ward containing ten wooden beds that are covered by nets. This is known as the ‘maternity’ ward. There are no curtains for any privacy at all. A small nurses room doubles as the indoor passage between the two wards, but it is easy to walk outside too. The other ward is called the ‘paediatric’ ward, but contains men too. It has seven beds, and three ‘isolation’ rooms where infectious or important patients go. Finally there is a storeroom. There is one qualified nurse (Naomi) on the wards, two assistants (Medius and Phionah) and two other people who want to train to be nurses (Constance and Slyvia). They live in rooms provided by the Centre on the other side of the volleyball court (near the internet café). Vicky is mainly working with these nurses at the moment,

The ‘container’ is outside the storeroom and is attached to a generator that gets fired up on a Thursday. This powers the x-ray machine, ultrasound and ECG inside. A radiographer comes every Thursday. Except she didn't turn up last week. A new surgical unit is currently being built behind the main block.

There are three doctors – Scott, Leonard and Paul. There are also lots of people who are referred to as ‘volunteers’ – medical students, nurses and doctors mainly from the UK and US who stay in the ‘guesthouse’ up the hill from the Centre, next to Scott and Carol’s house (which will become our house very soon). The Centre owns one very old Landrover and one that is newer. These are used for outreach clinics in Batwa settlements on a Monday and Friday.

PDF Files   

Household Survey report 2008

This Household Survey builds a picture of the community here, and helps us to target our community work at the very poorest.

Medical Superintendent Report to the Board of Governors of Church of Uganda Bwindi Community Hospital 24th November 2008

Bwindi Community Health Centre leaflet

The Batwa Pygmies of the Great Lakes Region

Minority Rights Group International Report

VSO Placement Description

World Cup Wall Chart

Videos

Bwindi Community Hospital

Youtube video we made about the Hospital

Monkey Swing.

(Paul Williams can shape change into a handsome monkey. Will do tricks for favours.)

www.vso.org.uk/giving/linking/landing_paul_williams.asp

Edward's video of Paul

www.pygmies.net/pages/video.html

Bwindi clinic and the Batwa video.

Gorillas

Edward's video

Extraction Jackson

Extraction Jackson teaching. Video

Alex

Patrick

Traditional Birth Attendants

Queens' Christmas Message 2006

(see fundraising section)

(see fundraising section)

(see Journal entry 27th Dec. 2007)

Sound files

Chimps

See Becs' journal entry.

Word documents

Medical Superintendent Report to the Board of Governors of Church of Uganda Bwindi Community Hospital 24th November 2008

6 Month VSO Review

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