hospital is set to enhance specialised medical and surgical treatment for ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) conditions across the country.
“This hospital is going to be concentrating on specialised areas of the eyes, the ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) and also along the way we will also introduce other specialities like maxillofacial surgeries, neurosurgeries, spine surgery because we want to look at the head and neck” she said.
Ms Atwine made the remarks during the ground breaking ceremony for the 100 bed capacity, Emirates Specialty Hospital alongside Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Sheikh Shakhboot Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan,and other ministry officials in Entebbe on Tuesday.
H.E. Sheikh Shakhboot Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan was in the country to attend President Yoweri Museveni’s swearing in ceremony at Kololo Ceremonial grounds
“The eye problem and ENT problem is actually big, if you go to our hospital in Mulago and you visit our ophthalmology clinic, it is overwhelmed, even in our regional referral hospitals. The problem is there but the majority of the patients, have simpler conditions like cataract and but there are other complicated cases that we are not able to handle like corneal transplant, which people have been traveling out for” she said.
Dr Atwine said construction of the state of the art facility which will specialize in ENT, ophthalmology (eye care), maxillofacial surgeries, and other specialized head surgeries will start next month, with completion expected in May 2027 and hospital operations to start by July 1st 2027.
“This is going to be a specialised hospital, it will be a referral whereby we will not be having walk-in patients. We will specifically be handling the specialised cases of eyes and ENT, eventually when we add the neurosurgery we will have to refer them here, we’ll not be able to treat malaria and other things” she said.
Dr Atwine revealed that the hospital which will also handle referrals from across the region, is a gift from the UAE government, which it will construct and hand over to government next year.
The Chief Executive Officer Areem Plus, the project consulting company, Dr Rajeev Mangottil, said the hospital which sits on 13.8 acres is part of the global hospital programme by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of UAE, will strengthen the bilateral relation between Uganda and UAE.
“This will be not only a hospital for Uganda, it will be one of the best hospital in Africa and this will cater for the region, especially neighbouring countries” he said.
He added, “The hospital will be equipped with state of the art modern facilities, including three operation theatres, modern lasers technology for eye treatments, machineries like femtosecond, very few countries in Africa have this kind of advanced ophthalmology and ENT care” he said.
