Bermuda has made a big impression at small hospital in Uganda.

Patients and staff at Kakira Sugar Works Hospital recently received a supply of used medical equipment and outdated medication from Bermuda Hospitals Board staff.

The shipment left patients and staff elated with the generosity of Bermuda and in particular King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute.

Body & Soul ran an article last November requesting the public donate used air casts. The appeal was a result of a visit by Mary McCabe, a former KEMH physiotherapist, to the Ugandan hospital.

Kakira Sugar Works Hospital was set up by owners of the sugar plantation, to cater to its workers and their families.

The hospital serves about 6,000 people in the rural Uganda area.

Touched by the great need for simple items Mrs. McCabe felt might be thrown away in Bermuda, she set about organising a recycling programme. Through her efforts used air casts, wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs and a host of other used equipment and outdated medical supplies were collected at the Island’s two hospitals.

Last month the items were shipped to Kakira. In a letter from Mrs. McCabe she said the 23 boxes were received safe and intact at the hospital by Kakira Sugar Works General Manager Richard Orr and its Medical Superintendent, Dr. Michael Katende.

Dr. Katende said: “This equipment is very useful, because it will be used to do a lot of orthopaedic work. Our staff now will be able to use proper equipment, to deal with fractures, which can in fact result in more damage if they are not handled well.”

The doctor expressed hope that the gift marks the beginning of a collaboration between the two hospitals that may also facilitate a staff exchange programme. “In order to build the hospital’s training capacity, as to improve service delivery to its patients,” he said.

“This is just the beginning, there is a lot to be done in the transfer of knowledge, the hospital also needs more books and journals, and we look forward to a formal collaborative effort, where we can even possibly facilitate linkages with Jinja Hospital, which also helps our community.”

Mrs. McCabe has visited Kakira Sugar Works Hospital many times and said she is impressed with the dedication and professionalism of the staff amid the challenges in supplies and equipment.

The hospital is staffed by three doctors, a few nurses, one physiotherapist, a radiographer and two lab staff.

Kakira Hospital Senior Nursing Officer Consolate Migumbi, said that linen and gowns also included in the gift, would help improve the hospital’s hygiene, by eliminating possible infections.

“Now more patients can have their own gowns to wear, when they are admitted, so that they do not stay in their own clothes,” she said. “They can also have their sheets changed more often, which helps with hygiene.”

Mrs. McCabe also heard from happy patients. In her letter to the Bermuda Hospitals Board, she wrote: “A patient, expressed joy at having had the chance, to move about the hospital more freely, with the support of the donated crutches. Another patient, using a donated wheelchair, said she was thankful, because it now made it easier for her to move with less pain and strain.

General Manager Richard Orr was enthusiastic in his acceptance. “This is really great and thanks must go initially to Mrs. Mary McCabe, the wife of Mike McCabe, Director of East Africa Holdings Limited, Bermuda. Both visited Kakira Sugar Works last year and made a promise to try and help the Kakira Hospital. Look how she has kept her promise.

“We also must say a big thank you to our new friends at the Bermuda Hospitals Board, who we have never met, but have given so much of their time to get the equipment packed up and sent to us all the way from the Caribbean (sic) Island of Bermuda so many miles away.

“Special mention has to be made of Shelagh Tasker and Tim Southern who coordinated the project. We received a picture of the equipment being packed up but we don’t know the names of all the people who were giving their time so generously but we at Kakira want to say a big thank you to all of you.”