Butabika Hospital has asked Parliament to increase its budget for meals to Shs4.7 billion up from Shs2.4 billion that has been allocated.
The call was made on Tuesday by Juliet Nakku, the executive director Butabika Hospital while appearing before Parliament’s Health Committee.
Keep Reading
Nakku told the committee that 313,000 patients are fed annually at an average cost of Shs6,187 which includes breakfast, lunch and supper.
However, she noted that the ideal cost of feeding each patient should be Shs15,000 for three meals daily, urging Parliament to consider increasing the meals budget.
“The current inpatient numbers are averaging 1200 daily in admission as against the bed capacity of 550. these patients get 3 meals per day which means that we have to improvise within the available budget,” Nakku said.
“There is need to increase this budget since food is part of the treatment and hospital takes full charge of patient feeding,” she added.
On the other hand, the hospital is seeking Shs2.5bn to complete the construction of a 2.5Km perimeter wall fence.
Nakku told the committee that the wall fence is still half done, and as a result, many patients use the undone section to escape from the hospital.
She warned that patients escaping from the facility, may not only pose a danger to the community around, but also endanger their lives.
“This is a big danger to them and the community. We also end up spending a lot of money on fuel to pick them from the roads as they escape,” she said.
