Over 400 people in the countryside who are on the waiting list for surgery at Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK) will now receive the services from their respective home districts.

According to Dr Theobald Hategekimana, the CHUK director, the exercise, that officially kicked off on Monday at Ruhengeri Hospital in Musanze District, aims at reducing the huge backlog of those waiting for appointments.

The ten-day programme will see 468 patients operated on out of 3000 who underwent screening recently. The surgical services will be carried out in five public hospitals countrywide namely; Musanze, Kibungo, Nyamata, Nyagatare and Karongi.

"We decided to reduce the large number of people coming to Kigali for surgical services. We also wanted to reduce the time-frame of the appointments we used to give to patients. We sometimes failed to offer treatment to some people on their due appointment because of emergency cases,” said Dr Hategekimana.

"It has been difficult for people to stay in Kigali seeking medical services for a long time because it became costly in the long-run.

However, patients will now be treated close their homes which will reduce costs and they will also get social support from their relatives,” he added

Beneficiaries speak out

Some patients who turned up for operations, from various districts in the Northern Province welcomed the outreach drive.

" I am happy that I am going to be treated here in Musanze. I found it difficult to go to Kigali to seek surgical services because of the high cost of living,” said Augustin Twagirayezu, who is nursing injuries on both legs due to a motorcycle accident.

"I was transferred to CHUK but I am yet to be operated on. I was supposed to be treated in August as per the appointment I got from CHUK.

‘‘I am very happy that today or tomorrow I will be operated on since the services have been brought closer to us,” said Donathile Nyirahategeka, in her 50s, who suffers from a condition that causes swelling of the head.

Dr Innocent Turate, the Health Quality Assurance Specialist at the Ministry of Health, hailed CHUK for the outreach programme, saying it would help many people.

He added that, while the problem of specialists remains a challenge to the health sector, the ministry was committed to boosting the number of specialists every year and to improve infrastructure and medical equipment in various public hospitals.

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