The Government of Uganda has obtained a loan of US $73million (about UGX 280 billion) from Islamic Development Fund (IDF) to facilitate the construction of a new home for Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) in Kampala.
Dr. John Omagino the UHI Executive Director disclosed that the institute has acquired 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land in the Naguru-Nakawa Government Complex, where it is to build a modern 250-bed hospital, with anticipation for expansion to 1,000 beds over time.
The new hospital will have three operating theatres, cardiac catheterization laboratories, an Intensive Care Unit, and research facilities. This, he said is expected to save the government billions of shillings spent on treatment overseas annually.
Dr. Omagino said the institute has already called for bids for procurement of civil works for the institute’s structural development project with the entire construction project estimated to cost about ugx 280 billion. The Uganda government provided the land in a co-funding arrangement.
He said the bidding process is almost complete and the contractor for the highly anticipated project would soon be announced and the works begin.
“We are focused on establishing a state-of-the-art heart surgery and treatment center. This new hospital will be capable of performing 5,000 heart surgeries annually, up from the current 1,000 performed in the limited space at Mulago,” he said.
Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) was established in 1988 as the National Referral Facility for heart disease in Uganda.
Currently located within Mulago National Specialized Hospital, UHI operates as an autonomous body governed by a dedicated Board of nine Directors led by Dr. James Magara and entrusted with coordinating and enhancing the management of cardiovascular diseases across the nation.
UHI is now a super specialized leading provider of cardiovascular services and the only National Referral Facility for heart diseases in Uganda.
According to Dr. Omagino, currently, UHI, using a modest investment and an enabling legal framework has trained cardiac super specialists and installed a modern Cardiac catheterization laboratory and operating theatre which have enabled them to conduct ground breaking heart surgeries and interventions of World-Class.
He said Uganda Heart Institute handles over 20,000 patients annually. The Institute started carrying out Open Heart Surgery in 2007 and to-date; over 7000 heart operations have been performed. This in effect means the Uganda Heart Institute can comprehensively handle over 95% of the adult cases and 85% of the cases among children in Uganda.
This is in line with the National Development Plan II (NDP2) strategy of reducing referrals abroad to less than 5%.
Dr. Omagino disclosed that in order to improve access to heart care, UHI is developing capacity to operationalize regional centers in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Regional Referral Hospitals. He however, said this requires additional funding from government.
The Institute is partnering with various Stakeholders including Civil Society, to promote health through advocating for a healthy lifestyle.
The preventive programs he said, are being addressed through a multi- sectoral approach with the Ministry of Health and other local and international partners.
What Uganda Heart Institute needs now, he said, is more working space and lager operational budgets to enable it fulfill its mandate.
Currently UHI carries out Open heart surgery at the UHI goes for US$5000 (about sh18m) while one would have to part with US $20,000 (about ugx 80m) in hospitals abroad.
Echo examination he said costs about ugx 80,000-100,000, at the UHI while the service costs ugx 250,000 in other private facilities.
“UHI has world class equipment, accompanied with a pool of consultants that work as a team. We are gradually building capacity to ensure that we reduce the burden of sending patients abroad for heart surgery,” he said.
He however, said UHI still faces the challenge of the low wage bill to be able to attract, recruit and retain top class medical specialists. Training specialist abroad is expensive, costing between US$30,000-40,000 per year for a single person for 3-5 years.
History of UHI
In 1988, the Uganda Heart Foundation, in collaboration with the Uganda Ministry of Health, Makerere University and Mulago National Referral Hospital, started the Uganda Heart Institute, using space provided on Ward 1C, in the New Mulago Hospital Complex. Since 1988, the Institute has received valuable contribution from national and international donors including the Rotary Club.
In January 2018, an all-Ugandan team of 14 healthcare specialists performed the first coronary artery bypass surgery operation by an all Ugandan team, in the history of the heart institute. The successful 10-hour operation was billed at ugx 18 million (approx. US$5,000), compared to over ugx100 million (approx. US$30,000), if it were done in a private hospital in South Africa, a common destination for Ugandan patients who can afford.
In April 2018, a cohort of 11 patients with abnormal heart rhythms, underwent a procedure called catheter ablation using the radiofrequency ablation method. All eleven of the patients benefited and recovered well. This was the first time this type of procedure was performed in Uganda.
Media reports indicate that of the 1.5 million children born every year in Uganda, about 15,000 have heart defects at birth (congenital heart abnormalities). Of those, about 8,000 children require corrective surgeries. Uganda’s only heart institute has the capacity to perform only 1,000 heart operations annually. That leaves a backlog of 7,000 every year.
List of medical directors of UHI since 1988
Three cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons have served as directors of the Institute since its foundation in 1988. The Founding Director was Prof. Francis Omaswa, cardiovascular surgeon, 1988 – 1998. Dr. Roy Mugerwa, cardiologist, 1998 – 2008 and Dr. John Omagino, cardiothoracic surgeon, since 2008 to date.