PCAU has been leading efforts to ensure the continuity of palliative care services amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Since March 2020, PCAU has offered over Uganda Shillings 70M in grants and materials support to member organizations to cope with COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges.
On Friday 12th April 2021, PCAU handed over various items to hospices including personal protective equipment, temperature guns, tents, umbrellas, tables, chairs, bicycles, and other medical sundries to 11 hospices in Uganda. The ceremony to hand over the materials was held at the PCAU Offices in Kitende on Entebbe Road. The event brought together different stakeholders including officials from the Ministry of Health, PC service providers, religious leaders, local leaders among others.
This was aimed at enabling hospices to set up screening areas at their facilities since COVID-19 pandemic is still here. These would also support other public health emergencies that would occur and require screening areas, therefore these would remain at the entrances. PCAU through its different partners will continue to offer support to other organizations as the need arises for the control of the spread of COVID-19.
The hospices that received support include Rays of Hope Hospice Jinja, Hospice Africa Uganda, Joy Hospice Mbale, Ibanda Central Clinic, Peace Hospice Adjumani, Makerere/Mulago Palliative Care Unit, Reach Out Mbuya, Santa Maria Hospice, Kitovu Mobile, Kawempe Home Care, and Hospice Tororo.
During his remarks, the Commissioner Clinical Services Dr. Jackson Amone informed members present that as much as everyone is happy that the vaccine arrived and is being administered, people should remember that it is not a cure but rather aimed at reducing the severity of COVID-19 and advised all to take the vaccine in the different categories as highlighted by the MOH.
He thanked PCAU for supporting the Ministry of Health in making sure service delivery continues and emphasized the importance of palliative care and hospice services where he emphasized that everyone will need them at one time or another. He also noted that the Ministry of Health is working towards seeing palliative care services everywhere for all that need them so that people live without pain and the communities should know that these services are available. When the COVID-19 crisis broke out in Uganda in March 2020, PCAU developed a COVID-19 interventions strategy to guide strategic planning. Working with the Ministry of Health, PCAU developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for palliative care teams in Uganda, PCAU also offered small grants to hospices within Uganda. The hospices used the funds to procure appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), support transport for home care, delivering medicines, to support staff communication and ICT needs.
See detailed report https://mcusercontent.com/7aaaf507baf2bf061e70e603c/files/fa1dcf7e-b13a-43d7-b10f-9e15a7e494d1/Covid_Update_report_for_December_2020.pdf
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