It was supposed to just be a quiet bank holiday today remembering the martyrs who died at Namugongo…

Started off fairly smoothly with the ward rounds going on around the hospital and a fairly quiet out-patient clinic when suddenly at around noon it was as if someone lit the blue touch-paper!  Vehicles arrived reporting that a lorry with large numbers of people on the back had overturned and fallen from the side of a road into a valley.  We were told that a number were dead at the scene but large numbers of casualties started to arrive.  In the end it was almost 50 in total.

“ I have to say the Staff and Students did an amazing job… they remained calm and professional and triaged patients effectively.  Mattresses were obtained very quickly and patients initially were assessed in many rooms in out-patients, ante-natal clinic area and the health insurance office!

The Chapel is a back up overflow ward as seen tonight…

Stabilising patients in the old out-patient immunisation room

It was a model of good team working and we were proud of how everyone joined in to do whatever was necessary with the result that the patients were moved smoothly and rapidly down to the wards.  Chaplains comforted and prayed for patients, nurses and student nurses monitored vital signs, medical staff reviewed and assessed and tried not to forget those patients already on the wards including a good number in our current Urology camp…

Dr Robert, Consultant, and Dr. Bruce, Medical Officer with the Surgical night ward round team

Our normal morning prayers tomorrow will be moved to out-patients as the chapel is full of patients and our weekly audit will be moved to Friday as we cannot run the presentation in out-patients area but will no doubt discuss today’s events.  Well done everyone!”