The Speaker of the Upper Nile State Assembly said he was shocked by the dire condition at Malakal Teaching Hospital, as the surgery ward became a den for dogs.
In a press statement after a visit to the facility on Tuesday, Honorable Chuol Dep Kier also found out that the hospital mortuary is currently occupied by flood-affected populations from Jonglei state.
Malakal Teaching Hospital was partly destroyed during the conflict of 2013, which left most of its infrastructures in disrepair.
The state hospital is reportedly suffering other setbacks, including an insufficient supply of medicine, understaffing, and electricity blackouts.
The Director General and staff of the hospital Dr. Nyango Adwok appealed for the renovation of destroyed structures at the hospital.
He also called for the unification of the workforce from the five defunct states into one financial pool.
In April this year, Acting Director General Dr. Adwok Nyango said they have no choice but to keep dead bodies in the same room with inpatients after the only mortuary was destroyed during the civil war.
Dr. Nyango told Eye Radio that the health facility receives about 100 outpatients a day and admits about 20 patients daily who get to be mixed up with dead bodies.
According to him, the facility was faced with shortages of drugs, and a lack of testing kits for HIV and Hepatitis B amidst rising cases of the diseases in the town.
The official also said the facility is also understaffed presenting another blow to their work in providing health services to the populace.
However, the National Minister of Health Yolanda Awel Garang labeled reports about the lack of mortuaries at Malakal Teaching Hospital as untrue.
Speaker Chuol Dep Kir and other lawmakers toured Malakal Teaching Hospital. | Tuesday 2nd August 2022. | [Photo: Upper Nile Parliament.]