Kampala- Luweero Diocese Bishop Elidard Nsubuga is pushing for a mixed use of prayer and medicine to achieve total healing for patients.
Bishop Nsubuga told health workers at Luweero Health Centre IV on Wednesday that the full healing of patients can only be achieved by the merciful intervention of God who blesses the efforts of health workers.
“We need to allocate time for spiritual counseling and devotional prayer hour at our health facilities. We need to encourage the patients to understand that God is the chief healer.
A spiritual counsellor is best suited to offer the message of hope and prayer for particular patients.
The Church is ready to support medics in realising a holistic healing,” he said.
“You will always receive patients who are depressed and counselling could be the first option,” Bishop Nsubuga told the health workers.
He said a spiritual counsellor plays an important role through selected application of a timely message of hope in the life of a patient.
In response, Dr Sarah Ogobi, the officer-in-charge of Luweero Health Centre IV, told the bishop that her staff have already embraced a holistic management approach for ailments.
“The counselling unit at the facility is active with the staff now fully participating in the devotional prayers organised by the chaplaincy which was established by Luweero Diocese,” she said.
Overwhelmed
Luweero Health Centre IV, which government has lined up for elevation to a district hospital, is overwhelmed by the patient turnout with more than 200 mothers delivering at the facility per month on average.
Similarly, its outpatient department, laboratory, eye clinic and the sickle cell clinics register large patient turnout daily.
“The large numbers we receive call for a holistic management approach, which we are now implementing. Our services will be made better when government fulfills the upgrade to a hospital,” Dr Ogobi said.
The 2014 National Population and Housing Census puts Luweero District population at 456,958, with 27,506 of the residents walking nearly five kilometres to access medical care at the nearest public health centre.
Another 2,534 of the residents lack toilet facilities, exposing them to diseases related to poor hygiene such as cholera, food poisoning and diarrhoea, among others.
By Daily Monitor
