Mbarara: Patients Struggle as X-ray Breakdown Adds to Healthcare Burden
The breakdown of the hospital’s decade-old X-ray machine has left many struggling to afford necessary medical care, especially those who travel from rural areas expecting free treatment
X-ray services at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital have been unavailable since August 2024, forcing patients to seek costly imaging services elsewhere.
The breakdown of the hospital’s decade-old X-ray machine has left many struggling to afford necessary medical care, especially those who travel from rural areas expecting free treatment.
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Sitting unused in the hospital’s radiology department, the idle X-ray machine was once vital in diagnosing thousands of patients. Its prolonged absence has hit the most vulnerable hardest, with some unable to afford alternative options.
One caretaker, tending to a patient at the hospital, voiced his frustration: “The only thing I want the government to do for me is help us with the X-ray. We were sent out for the service, but I couldn’t raise the money. My patient has no support. Even today, I was sent again, but I still can’t afford it.”
Beyond the lack of imaging services, patients also struggle to buy prescribed medicines that are unavailable at the hospital pharmacy, compounding their financial strain.
Hospital management acknowledged that the X-ray machine had suffered frequent breakdowns before becoming completely unusable.
Halson Kagure, the hospital’s public relations officer, explained, “One of our X-ray machines has been here for over a decade. It used to experience frequent breakdowns, making it difficult for radiologists to provide proper services. The machine was inefficient, causing long delays and producing poor-quality images.”
Following the breakdown, the hospital administration requested a replacement from the Ministry of Health.
The ministry has since acknowledged the request, and a new digital X-ray machine is expected to arrive soon.
Kagure expressed relief, saying, “We are so happy that the Ministry of Health has cleared the receipt, so the new X-ray machine is on its way.”
However, until the new equipment is delivered and installed, patients continue to bear the cost of seeking imaging services outside the hospital.
Many are urging the government to expedite the process and ease the financial burden on those who can least afford it.
