Butabika National Referral Hospital, commonly known as Butabika Hospital is a hospital in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. It is the mental health national referral hospital for the entire country's estimated population of 36 million in 2014.
| Butabika National Referral Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Uganda Ministry of Health | |
 | |
  | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Butabika, Kampala, Uganda |
| Coordinates | 00°18′57″N 32°39′33″E / 0.31583°N 32.65917°E |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public |
| Type | Referral |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | I |
| Beds | 900 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1955 |
| Links | |
| Other links | Hospitals in Uganda Medical education in Uganda |
Location
editButabika National Referral Hospital is located in Butabika, a neighborhood within Kampala. Butabika lies in the southeastern part of the city, in Nakawa Division, adjacent to the northern shores of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest fresh-water lake. This location is approximately 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi), by road, east of Kampala's central business district.[1] Butabika Hospital is about 12.5 kilometres (8 mi) southeast of Mulago National Referral Hospital.[2] The coordinates of Butabika Hospital are: 0°18'57.0"N, 32°39'33.0"E (latitude: 0.315845 and longitude: 32.659160).[3]
Overview
editButabika Hospital is a public psychiatric hospital, funded and administered by the Uganda Ministry of Health and general care in the hospital is free. The hospital is the only referral psychiatric hospital in Uganda. Opened in 1955, it has a bed capacity of 900, as of February 2010.[4] The hospital also serves as the psychiatric teaching hospital for Makerere University College of Health Sciences for both undergraduate and postgraduate training, especially for the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB), Master of Medicine in Psychiatry (MMed Psych) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in psychiatry.[5]
Butabika Hospital is also the location of the Institute of Psychiatric Clinical Officers, a school administered by the Uganda Ministry of Health, which trains high school graduates to become psychiatric clinical officers. It is the only school of its kind in Eastern Africa.[6]
Whilst working at the hospital n the early 2000s, Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu noticed a large number of HIV/AIDS patients were being admitted with serious mental health problems.[7] This inspired her to begin a research programme which has since proven that culturally appropriate, group psychotherapy, which is led by non-professional practitioners is an effective treatment of depression in HIV patients, which has positive impacts on their physical health.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Road Distance Between Amber House, Speke Road, Central Kampala And Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital, Butabika, Uganda" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Road Distance Between Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital And Mulago National Referral Hospital" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Location of Butabika Hospital" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Profile of Butabika National Referral Hospital". Butabika National Referral Hospital. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ Mukisa, Farahani (16 September 2013). "Butabika Hospital Decries Shortage of Psychiatrists". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ Lakwonyero, Lydia; Longoli, Simon (8 June 2009). "Uganda Lacks Psychiatrists". New Vision. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "Mom Inspires Daughter To Be A Doctor Who Really Makes People Better". text.npr.org. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ "Group psychotherapy led by lay health workers can dramatically improve depression in people with HIV, says Ugandan study". aidsmap.com. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.