Heavy Downpour Leaves Gulu Hospital Medical Ward Flooded

A heavy downpour has left a large section of the medical ward at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital flooded, bringing medical services to a halt for hours.

The flood water according to hospital officials seeped through a door neighbouring the newly built multi-billion maternity ward after a heavy downpour that started at about 5 pm on Sunday. Video footage of the patient’s caretakers clearing water out of the wards went viral on various social media platforms since last night, leaving many concerned.

According to Christine Arach Omona one of the patient’s caretakers, the facility first flooded on Saturday following light rainfall but the heavy flood on Sunday evening left the entire medical ward flooded. She says a number of the caretakers tried to scoop out the water but failed and this forced them to fundraise 11,000 Shillings to pay men for the work.

Luo//Cue in; “Kot ocako cwer…

Cue out…piny weng ngic.”//

Arach says the persistent flooding is inconveniencing patients and caretakers and disrupting medical services.

Luo//Cue in; “mito ki yub…

Cue out…yub kiti peke.”//

Walter Oriekwun, the Principal Hospital Administrator says that the flooding was caused by the poor drainage system which can’t carry a large volume of rainwater from the high-rise maternity building.

//Cue in; “We had a…

Cue out…water flows downwards.”//

Oriekwun says they have identified the problem and instructed the hospital maintenance personnel to rectify the drainage to avoid a repeat of the flooding in the near future.

//Cue in; “We have identified…

Cue out…the drainage system.”//

The hospital management has also embarked on the renovation of a section of the medical ward which had been facing a similar challenge. According to officials at the facility, a total of 12 million Shillings was earmarked for the project which is already nearing completion.

The facility started flooding early this year.