Medical staff at Kodok Hospital in Fashoda County of South Sudan’s Upper Nile State say they need more help to treat patients and returnees arriving from Sudan.
Lino Ernest Tipo, the Medical Director of Kodok Hospital, told Radio Tamazuj Saturday that the health facility is struggling to deal with the large number of patients who had come from neighbouring Sudan.
He stated that the biggest challenge facing the hospital is the difficulty of transporting critical cases to Malakal Hospital due to the lack of means of transportation and the lack of fuel.
“Three months ago, we faced many challenges in terms of means of transport, medicines and beds, but the commissioner has addressed some of them. So I can say there is some improvement and the commissioner has hired three medical staff, including a lab technician,” he said.
“We currently have enough medicines but the challenge is the lack of fuel for boats that carry patients in critical conditions to Malakal Hospital for further medical attention,” he added.
Dr. Lino pointed out that the health facility has enough medicines to combat the diseases that are widespread in the area of Kodok, saying most of the diseases recorded by the hospital cases of malnutrition, especially among children returning from Sudan, malaria, infections, bleeding in pregnant women, and infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.
The medical director appealed to the government in Upper Nile State to provide the necessary fuel to transfer critical cases to Malakal Hospital.
For his part, Fashoda County Commissioner Ronyo Yor Deng said that the county government is making great efforts in collaboration with health organizations to provide medicines to Kodok Hospital.
Deng pointed out that the county government made great efforts to hire more doctors to work at Kaduk Hospital, which he said has significantly improved the provision of health services in the area. He added that his administration is in the process of raising the capabilities of health centres in all payams to become effective in providing treatment and health services to citizens.
“We are working to hire more medical staff when our financial situation improves and we plan to equip the healthcare centres in payams so that they provide services to the people,” Deng said.
The local official pointed out that he managed to bring some medicines to Kodok Hospital during his recent visit to the state headquarters, Malakal.