By Alex Taremwa
Inside Allan Galpin Health Centre, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) clinic, sits Akankwatsa Yunia, a third-year Mass Communication student. She has been waiting for just a minute before the doctor calls her to pick up her laboratory tests. She can’t believe it.
“This has taken shorter than expected,” she says with a smile, recalling, “Back then, we used to wait here for over 30 minutes, and we would even be asked to wait longer.”
The new developments have been brought about by acquisition of a first of its kind, GYAN laboratory chemistry analyser. The fully automated, Belgian-made equipment with standard control can test over 20 laboratory samples at a time.
According to Zac Tamale, a laboratory technician at Allan Galpin, this has given a significant boost to the diagnosis of patients due to its revolutionary technology. It also has reduced the number of staff and student referrals the clinic makes to external, “more sophisticated” hospitals. Previously, the university incurred extra costs in referring patients to affiliated hospitals such Namirembe Church of Uganda Hospital, Mengo Hospital.
“With this machine, we can monitor variations in hypertension, blood pressure, cholesterol and fat, bone profiles, blood calcium and iron in the body,” Tamale explains.
In addition to the above list, the machine has the capacity to explore liver, kidney and heart related complications.
According to the World Health Organization’s core medical equipment information, the chemistry analyser can perform tests on whole blood, serum, plasma, or urine to determine concentrations of analytes such as cholesterol, electrolytes, glucose and calcium. This helps diagnose and treat numerous conditions, including diabetes, cancer, HIV, STD, hepatitis, kidney deficiency, fertility and over- and under-active thyroid problems.
This development comes at an opportune moment as UCU opened doors for students in the newly opened medical school in conjunction with Mengo Hospital starting with the September 2018 intake.
The Allan Galpin Director of Health Services, Dr. Geoffrey Mulindwa, said the new acquisition, coupled with the expertise and know-how that the centre currently boasts, will help the community around the university considering that it is the first of its kind in Mukono.
“The clinic now has the capacity to carry out diagnosis on body organs like the liver and kidneys and to help clinicians improve on diagnosis and treatment planning,” he says. According to the statistics since the chemistry analyzer was installed, the number of patients has grown by over 23%, suggesting that public confidence in the clinic named after a missionary has been improved.
Dr. Mulindwa said the chemistry analyser will “improve on timely decision-making to have better outcomes and cut the cost considering that UCU is delving into medical education to integrate faith, service and learning.”
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For more information about how you can help support equipment to make a difference in UCU education, contact Mark Bartels, UCU Partners executive director, at mtbartels@gmail.com.
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