Mbarara, Uganda — Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) has introduced strict guidelines limiting the number of caregivers allowed per patient and enforcing designated visiting hours in a bid to ease congestion and improve patient care.
The hospital management has appealed to patients, caregivers and visitors to comply with the new measures, warning that overcrowding in wards poses challenges to healthcare delivery, infection prevention and the safety of both patients and medical personnel.
Hospital spokesperson Halson Kagure confirmed the directive, explaining that although the facility faces limited physical space, uncontrolled numbers of caregivers and visitors have contributed to congestion.
Kagure, who also serves on the hospital’s Quality Improvement and Infection Control Committees, said the guidelines are intended to ensure that the hospital maintains appropriate standards of safety, hygiene and patient care.
Under the new guidelines, general wards will allow a maximum of one caregiver for a stable patient and two caregivers for a critically ill patient.
In the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Accident and Emergency Department, only one caregiver will be permitted per patient. However, caregivers may be required to temporarily leave these areas to allow medical teams sufficient space to carry out procedures.
Access to the resuscitation room has been completely restricted for caregivers, with hospital management emphasising that the area must remain accessible to medical personnel attending to critically ill patients.
The management has also raised concerns over incidents in which caregivers reportedly resist instructions from hospital staff to leave patient bedsides or clear space needed for treatment.
To ensure effective implementation, the hospital has introduced daily patient engagement meetings and displayed instructional notices across different wards. The measures are intended to help area managers, ward in-charges and security personnel enforce the guidelines.
In a related measure, the hospital has announced strict visiting hours, allowing visitors to access patients during only three designated periods each day.
The approved visiting hours are 6:00am to 7:00am, 1:00pm to 2:00pm, and 6:00pm to 7:00pm.
Ward in-charges and health workers on duty have been directed to ensure that visitors observe the designated time windows.
Hospital management has urged patients and their families to cooperate with the new arrangements, saying compliance will help create a more conducive environment for healthcare workers to perform their duties while ensuring that patients receive appropriate attention.
The latest measures come as the hospital continues to grapple with a shortage of space amid high demand for its services.
Dr. Deus Twesigye, the Acting Senior Executive Consultant and Senior Consultant General Surgeon, previously explained that the facility was struggling with limited space as it awaits a government-promised project to construct multi-storey buildings in phases.
Twesigye warned that overcrowded wards interfere with the work of doctors and other health professionals while increasing the risk of cross-contamination and hospital-acquired infections.
The hospital is working to minimise these risks through improved infection prevention measures and better management of patient care areas.
Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital is one of the major public health facilities serving southwestern Uganda and neighbouring areas. It caters to an estimated catchment population of more than 11 million people across the region and neighbouring countries, including approximately 6.5 million people within the Ankole sub-region.
The new restrictions are expected to help manage congestion, improve infection control and provide medical teams with the space needed to deliver services safely and efficiently.
