Kiwoko Hospital is about 50 miles northwest of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city. It was started by Dr Ian Clarke, a GP from North Down in 1987, after the civil war in Uganda. The hospital serves a population of 500,000 with annual running costs in the order of £720,000. These costs are met by patient fees (30%), the government of Uganda (8%) and from external donors (62%). The hospital has 200 beds (medical, surgical, paediatric, and maternity beds), a neonatal intensive care unit, an outpatient department, a pharmacy, a radiology department and a laboratory. There is a major focus on preventative health care with community health education, sanitation and immunisation a priority. Kiwoko Hospital also runs nurse and laboratory training schools with over 230 student nurses currently enrolled.
A link was established between the South Eastern HSC Trust and Kiwoko Hospital in 2006 when various employees of the trust began fund raising for Kiwoko Hospital and arranging for teams to visit each year bringing particular skills and providing encouragement to the Ugandan and ex-pat staff working in Kiwoko Hospital. Kiwoko Hospital has also been adopted by the Trust’s chairman as his special charity. In the first few years several thousand pounds were raised. The effort continues and in 2010/11 they raised over £36,000 bringing the total raised to over £100,000 since the project started.
Each year a team from the Trust visits Kiwoko Hospital with the next visit scheduled for October 2018. Some healthcare professionals stay for up to 6 weeks working in the hospital. Others visit for shorter periods. There are always opportunities for healthcare professionals to work in Kiwoko Hospital for short periods or for much longer. If interested more details can be obtained from Dr Roy Harper.
