Giving hope: Part Two
Visiting the Hope ward, the charity wing of the hospital.
On our way back down the wards, we paused at the entrance to the Hope Ward, the charity wing of the hospital, funded in part through profits from the main hospital and the remainder through corporate sponsorship. The ward looks no different from the private ones; clean and as well staffed as the rest. Here, patients who are in need of the services but unable to afford them are referred. Many come from the conflict zones in Northern Uganda to avail of reconstructive plastic surgery. Others come by way of charities and orphanages who know of IHK’s services, and realise that the likelihood of quality care in the main government hospitals is limited.
Outside the Hope ward, a notice board with media clipping is like a trophy cabinet: ‘International Hospital help poor get treatment’; ‘Hope ward renews joy in living’; ‘Uganda performs six heart surgeries’. The clippings are alongside a poster advertising free cleft pallet surgery. As I pass by it, the international air ambulance, part of IHK’s emergency service, takes to flight from one of the ‘H’ pads outside. Children rush to the windows to see it lift off. The noise is almost deafening, the enthusiasm palpable.
Impressive as all of this is, I am aware that what I’m seeing on the hospital’s Namuwongo grounds is only part of IHK’s overall project. Outreach clinics are also spreading throughout the country, to places as far away as the northern regions of Pader, Lira and Gulu. One clinic is on a flower farm, another at a factory. They are joint initiatives with private sector companies who want clinics locally for their staff and families to access. The companies ask IHK to set up services and contribute to the running costs. The clinics can then become a base to reach out to others in need in the community who otherwise would be unable to access local care. Clarke explained that such joint ventures are integral to their expansion plan and their mission to raise medical standards nationwide, “It is all part of trying to leverage our expertise”.
But growing such a monumental project- from the hospital, the insurance company, the clinics, the university- and all at the same time, is not without its significant challenges. Funding, resources and management capacity has taken time to build. The construction materials needed to be sought. Curriculum needed to be developed. New systems needed to be implemented and people educated in using them effectively and efficiently, all the while building enough capital and infrastructure to keep it all sustainable. Finding good staff to do it all, and retaining them, has also been a difficulty, Clarke explained. While the new university aims to create a cadre of highly qualified medical professionals in the county, it will be years before the first batch is qualified and experienced enough to fill all the gaps needed to meet IHK’s wildly ambitious targets. Turning to the likes of India for specialised staff is looking like one of the only viable interim measures, which Clarke realises is not ideal.
But aside from management and expansion issues, there have also been more sinister challenges. With a darkened mood and obviously frustrated, Clarke explained that money has been stolen by several trusted staff and valuable time wasted in bringing the cases to court. For a man who is known for his belief and investment in people, it would be hard not to be shaken, and the look in his eyes tells me that he is. But with 500 current staff, he knows he has to keep going. “There is no way back, I have come too far”, he says, adding after a lengthy pause, “I have learned that you don’t give up but you don’t expect to make huge strides at once. You just keep going through them incrementally. Then you look around in a few years and say, oh yes, we have made some progress”.
If ever in doubt of the progress, he should take comfort from the walls of the hospital itself. A mural painted by some children in the Hope ward, in bright, sunny colours seems to say it all: ‘Don’t give up’, ‘Life is worth’. ‘Tears of Joy’, ‘Life is good’. I’m not sure if Hope Ward was named as an aspiration, but it is clear that for many, hope has indeed taken root. And just as I was leaving, the air ambulance once again took to the skies, the children’s cheer lifting out of the windows with it.
With thanks to the Simon Cumbers Media Challenge Fund and Connect World for their generous support for this project.
Words and Images by Clare Mulvany
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