The construction of the Mubende Ebola treatment center in Uganda is currently underway. The new facility is being constructed, just two kilometers from the first Ebola center in the East African country.
The new Ebola center will reportedly add 33 beds to the 48 spaces for Ebola patients who are already protected in the hospital. The goal, according to Dr. Elizabeth Katwesigye is to take into account any developments in the epidemic. Katwesigye is one of the infection control and prevention coordinators for the Ministry of Health.
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She said that they chose to construct the Mubende Ebola treatment center to build an extension to the existing site at the regional hospital. This, she explained, was done to ensure readiness in the event of an increase in patient numbers.
Why Uganda is building the new Mubende Ebola treatment center
The other reason was to have enough space to accommodate various patient types with suspected or confirmed Ebola. Also, it was built to accommodate patients in regular hospital wards.
The suspected case area is divided into two tents. It is said that each tent has eight private rooms with private toilets and showers. At the entrance, workers have set up a patient screening center where patients are greeted before entering.
The infected individual is transferred to a new area for confirmed cases if the virus is detected in their body. They are considering building nine rooms in a wooden building with plastic sheeting. This is according to Medecins sans Frontieres of Ebola treatment center coordinator, Maxime Pirard.
They will also install plexiglass for the nursing staff to safely monitor the patients in the area that has been confirmed. This will include eight beds in a tent.
Madudu Ebola treatment center
Another center in Madudu town, one of the epidemic’s worst-hit areas, 25 kilometers from Mubende, recently opened its doors. The center was established to reduce the amount of time between the onset of symptoms and patient care.
According to the MSF Coordinator, the primary objective of Madudu is to bring suspect patients to the healthcare facility, isolate them safely and perform tests on them. If the results are positive, they will send the patients back to the hospital’s center.
