A Sunday afternoon heavy downpour left a large section of the medical ward at Gulu regional referral hospital flooded, bringing medical services to a halt for several hours.

The flood water according to hospital officials seeped through the door neighbouring the newly built multi-billion maternity ward after a heavy downpour that started at about 5 pm Sunday.

Video footage of the patients’ caretakers clearing water out of the wards went viral on various social media platforms since last night, leaving many concerned.

According to Christine Arach Omona one of the patient’s caretakers, the facility first flooded on Saturday following light rainfall but the heavy rainfall on Sunday evening left the entire medical ward flooded. She says a number of the caretakers tried to scoop out the water but failed and this forced them to fundraise Shs 11,000 to pay men for the work.

Arach says the persistent flooding is inconveniencing patients and caretakers and disrupting medical services. Walter Oriekwun, the principal hospital administrator says that the flooding was caused by the poor drainage system which can’t carry a large volume of rainwater from the high-rise maternity building.

Oriekwun says they have identified the problem and instructed the hospital maintenance personnel to rectify the drainage to avoid a repeat of the flooding in the near future.

The hospital management has also embarked on the renovation of a section of the medical ward which had been facing a similar challenge. According to officials at the facility, a total of Shs 12 million was earmarked for the project which is already nearing completion. The facility started flooding early this year.