In August, the Kristina Health Centre celebrated 10 years of bringing health care to the local communities of Otuke. 53,922 patients have been treated to date!
We’re so grateful for all of the support for Kristina Health Centre over the years, the impact of the generosity from our community has achieved so many milestones over the last decade and helped us get to where we are today.
The team in Uganda organised the celebration for an estimated 1,000 people and over 3,000 arrived on the day!
Local service providers were engaged on the day to offer Family Planning, Cervical Cancer screening, Blood Bank services, covid vaccines and ultrasound for any pregnant women. We are thrilled at the success of the celebration, and the number of people that were reached.
Here are some highlights of the day that were made possible by our hardworking team on the ground in Uganda.
Ultrasound
Women started to arrive the day before and slept overnight to line up for access to ultrasound. It was an incredibly moving moment the next day as women could see the gender of their baby for the first time.
Mothers left smiling and excited. Each mother-to-be received a birthing kit as they left the clinic in order to ensure they are prepared should they go into labour without time to reach the clinic.
For mothers that came for ultrasound, all 163 women were served. None went back without being scanned, and any abnormal scans were explained, reassured and referred where necessary. Those women not yet at term were connected with the village health team and will be followed up at antenatal appointments to ensure they get the care they need.
Blood donations
The KHC team were eager to engage the local Blood Bank donation service for the day. Interestingly, over the last two years, no one from Otuke has given blood, yet people from the district are using an average of 4 litres each day.
The Blood Bank service engaged 211 people who were willing and ready to donate on the day, and 153 people were able to meet the criteria. 153 lives will be able to be saved. At the moment, it all goes to the regional blood bank in Lira. Daniel, the KHC Senior clinical officer is looking into the steps and equipment required for KHC to become an accredited blood bank service.
Cervical Cancer Screening
Four different stations were set up to screen as many women as possible. 632 mothers arrived for screening and all four service points were operating at capacity.
- 3 positives – 2 had very strong cancer – stage 2; 1 mild form
- Follow up – build the capacity of our staff at the screening level – those who participated. To expand our reach and offer more outreaches.
Vaccinations
Covid vaccines from Johnson and Johnson were stocked to reach those who were unvaccinated. So many arrived that there was only stock enough to reach just over a third of those interested in being vaccinated. When more vaccines become available they can be distributed during a health care outreach day.
Family Planning
142 people were provided with family planning consultation by the local reproductive health service and provided with resources and education.
Local community leaders and notable people in the community including Julius spoke to the community on the day and set KHC on course to reach even more patients by spreading the word of services available to the community.
