At the time of my visit I was surprised at the bumpy dirt road that was required to travel on to get to the hospital. I can not emphasize bumpy enough. I could not help by think of the person heading to the hospital for medical care having to travel this road especially if they happened to be in any kind of painful distress.
The hospital campus comprises of all separate buildings which followed the British hospital system. For example, OB is in one building, radiology in another, and the lab in another. The 125 bed hospital has an average of 80-90 patient daily census. The rooms are wards with six beds or cots in each room. Not all of the beds had a mosquito net.
We had the honor of being greeted by the Chief Medical Officer. He took us to the hospital chapel where the staff attend daily morning devotions, sermon, songs, and prayer. After the service the staff gave the patient reports to the CMO. It was interesting to hear of the case that involved an attack by a water buffalo.
The medical care needed is provided on a pay-as-you-go system. There is an approximate 4-6 hour wait in the Emergency Room/Admission area to see a doctor. Just to register costs 1,000 shillings (approximately 0.82 cents) The doctor is around 3,000 shillings, an x-ray may cost another 6,000 shillings, and so it goes until the treatment is completed or the person has no more money to complete the treatment needed. To put the income in perspective, the average nurse makes around 400 shillings a month. That is equal to about $33.00 US dollars. There is a government hospital available in the city that does get some government funding. That hospital does offer a sliding scale fee but we were told the hospital's reputation is very bad with the building being in poor shape and the health care is also said to be lacking and poor. The treatment of TB, HIV, and mental illness is free at the government hospital. Enjoy your visual tour of Selian Hospital.
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