- The hospital has over 800 patients
- stigma against Butabika Hospital and also the people who work at the facility is still a challenge
- Liberty life assurance and soul foundation seek to address Mental health awareness
Liberty Life Assurance and Soul Foundation decided to spend the whole of Friday of the last weekend with patients at the mental health institution seeking to create awareness around mental health challenges but also bring a rare smile on faces of over 800 patients in the facility.
During the day, More than 800 patients at Uganda’s National Psychiatric Referral Hospital-Butabika were severed a Christmas package which involved a luncheon, in an exciting gesture.
Apart from patients, over 100 staff at the hospital were also served.‘’It is good that “our patients and staff have been thought of, We don’t know how much to say thank you to you. We are really deeply grateful for this gesture,” Dr. Angella Ilakut, the head of nursing at Butabika Hospital said. “We are so privileged to have so many brands and people identifying with us,” she added.
“We’ll be going into the new year with strength to build on our accomplishments and to consolidate our position,” an elated Dr. Angella said, noting that the appreciation by Soul Foundation, Liberty Life Assurance among other brands would seem moving into the New Year with vigor.
During the event, Dr. Angella revealed that there is a lot of stigma against Butabika Hospital but also against the people who work there and said the Christmas luncheon given to patients and staff was a very kind gesture.“We’ve been given a lot of support to move on and so we want to promise our partners and friends that we shall continue the journey.
”The official capacity of Butabika Hospital is 550 but currently, we have about 850 patients. The numbers increase daily while the resources to cater for them remain the same,” Dr. Angella said.
On her Part, Mrs. Juliet Murungi Okwi, the business development manager at Liberty Life Assurance said the early Christmas present sought to build a positive narrative on mental health and also live a longer lasting impression and smile to patients and their caregivers beyond the food items and drinks.
“We want to create awareness and help prevent the stigma that people have about this place. So we need to change the narration as to what people think about Butabika Hospital,” Mrs Okwi said.
She said, Liberty Life Assurance Company Uganda has provided medical and life insurance services for over a decade in Uganda and is passionate about mental health hence the partnership with Soul Foundation and Butabika Hospital for this year’s Christmas Celebrations
“Mental health awareness is something that we are really passionate about as a brand. And we want to put an end to the stigma related to mental health,” she said, explaining,” noting that “we sought to bring smiles on faces of those that, you know, seemingly have lost their way around this world or for the future.
”Liberty Life Assurance Uganda and staff also delivered assorted Christmas hampers for the children with mental health challenges.
Butabika Hospital was established in 1955 and is currently the only National Referral Mental Health Institution in the Country.
The Hospital provides specialized care to people with mental illness and at the same time also providing Out-patient services to the people from the surrounding area.
Butabika Hospital is about 10 km East of Kampala City and it is the second biggest Hospital in Uganda with a bed capacity of 550, though the number often range between 750 -780.
Meanwhile Ms. Gerry Opoka, the founder and the Executive Director of Soul Foundation Ltd believes that through partnerships the public can change their perception and stigma over years they have against Butabika National Referral hospital.
‘’ There is a need to portray a positive image around mental health and to destigmatize Butabika National Referral Hospital so that we normalize the sickness and neutralize the negative emotions associated with the hospital’’ she added.
Opoka also commended staff members of Butabika Hospital who handle mentally challenged persons, noting that they have very wide bandwidth of patience, as it's needed to properly care for these patients. She welcomed more sponsors to join the cause next year.
Speaking to press at the sideline of the event, Ms. Gerry Opoka, noted that as Soul Foundation, they started a nutrition campaign for Butabika about six weeks ago.
In this campaign, she said, a variety of food items which included fruits, vegetables, rice, matooke, deep fried chicken, silver fish, milk and others were made available for patients to eat in their respective wards.
The event was organized and sponsored by Soul Foundation Limited, alongside key allies, which among others included; Coca-Cola, Fitness Junction Gym and SPA, Liberty Life Assurance, Mandela Millers among others.