A 63-Year-Old Mother Spends two weeks Weeding A Nurse's Garden To Pay Off Her Daughter's Medical Bills

What you should know:
Margret Iloku, 63, spent nearly two weeks weeding the ground nut garden of nurses at Princess Diana health centre IV in Soroti city after failing to pay the medical expenses of her daughter-in-law, Grace Acen, who was admitted to the facility after giving birth via cesarean section.

Iloku, a resident of Tukum, Soroti District, eastern Uganda, arrived at the facility empty-handed, anticipating to receive free services from the government health unit. However, she was asked to pay Shs 3,000 for the patient file that the facility provides. As she struggled to acquire the funds for the file, the nurses requested an additional Shs 20,000 to purchase Jik detergent, powder soap, and toilet paper, which were necessities for every expectant mother in labor at the facility.

Iloku was unable to proceed and sought assistance from other patient attendants in the ward. As she wandered aimlessly, she was informed that some of the facility's nurses have garden work that requires labor. Iloku, who is also ailing from a dislocated joint, offered to work to raise funds in order to gain access to the facility's services.

Three days later, however, her patient failed to push the infant out, necessitating a cesarean section. As Iloku prepared the patient for surgery in the operating room, she was instructed to deposit Shs 300,000 before the procedure could begin. Due to Iloku's lack of funds, the doctors were forced to defer the operation. After making several phone calls back home, she was only able to raise 130 000 Shs.

After the surgery, Iloku was required to purchase painkillers and other medications to aid the patient's recovery. This supplemented her manual labor assignment in the garden so that she could pay her expenses. Five days after her patient was discharged, Iloku was still in the garden when our reporter visited the facility. She informed our reporter that she was unable to accompany the patient home due to outstanding expenses.

Ilolu is not alone in his fight for health services at the Princess Diana health center IV. Many other convalescent attendants who do not pay for the service end up in the facility's medical staff's gardens. Florence Awayo, another patient attendant in the maternity ward, ended up in one of the nurses' maize gardens to purchase a file and disclaimer for the Shs 20,000 intended for Jik detergent, powder soap, and toilet paper.

The patient of Awayo also underwent a cesarean section, for which she paid Shs 150,000. She told URN that, despite the fact that the patient was taken to the operating room before the money was deposited, the doctors had threatened to murder her patient if she did not pay the required fees.
Dr. Alfred Anyonga, the director of the Princess Diana health centre IV, stated that he is unaware of the facility's fees unless the anesthetists are unavailable. He stated that the facility lacks an anesthesiologist, necessitating occasional services from a regional referral hospital.

Princess Diana health centre IV has been under fire for some time due to staff extortion. Last year, the clamor prompted the intervention of the area's woman representative, resident city commissioner, and city authorities.