CoRSU, Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services in Uganda for persons with disabilities, is a healthcare, teaching and rehabilitation facility providing affordable rehabilitative surgery for persons with physical disabilities.  CoRSU is aUgandan initiative which has been encouraged and supported by CBM, and supports CBM's aim to help improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities.
 
Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services in Uganda for persons with disabilities (CoRSU) officially opened its doors to the public on the 27th March 2009. CoRSU has been encouraged and supported by CBM. At the heart of the project is the construction of a Rehabilitation Hospital and a Rehabilitation Centre. The realisation of Phase 1 in March 2008 included an Outpatient Department (OPD), a Theatre Block (6 Theatres), a general ward with 64 beds, a Rehabilitation Hostel (54 beds) and an orthopaedic workshop.
 
The project has come a long way since 2005, when the first steps were taken to establish CoRSU in recognition that present facilities and services would not be adequate to meet future demand for affordable rehabilitative surgery for persons with physical disability in Uganda. CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital and CoRSU Rehabilitation Centre stand on a ten acre piece of land along the main road from Entebbe to Kampala.

Following the completion of Phase 1, comprising 5,500 m2 of buildings, CoRSU has been busy receiving clients from all parts of Uganda and some neighbouring places such as Kagondo hospital in Tanzania, Synergie Simama (Bunia) in DRC and Usratuna in Southern Sudan. Many cases have been seen and worked on in-house, while others are referred to relevant external health facilities.
 
The grass-roots CBR program CoRSU operates means that a number of people are getting to know CoRSU’s work and what it does.  Since February, the CBR department has held several training sessions for community members and volunteers in disability facts, myths, beliefs, stigma and attitude, disability and rehabilitation, disability and poverty, disability and HIV/AIDS, CBR in action, breaking down barriers/changing attitudes and the parental role. Such in-the-community training is particularly vital in Uganda because there are many myths surrounding disability in Uganda which can lead to stigma and isolation of children and persons with disability.
 
CoRSU’s busiest time is during the week, when an average of 50-60 patients per day pass through the OPD. Since opening, CoRSU has seen a total of 1107 outpatients. During the week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday are clinic days for the plastic department and surgery for the orthopaedic department, while Thursdays and Tuesdays are clinic days for the orthopaedics and surgery for the plastic department; this accounts for much of the activity.

Patients who come to CoRSU hospital are largely self-referrals; others are referred by different CBM partners such as Katalemwa Cheshire home, OURs Mbarara, Namutamba Rehabilitation centre, Cherub Rehabilitation centre and Nkokonjeru Cheshire home. Most of the children received by CoRSU come with their mothers as the main caretaker, though a few are fathers. Those who come through other partner organisations come with vehicles from those organisations, escorted by staff and their care takers.
 
The orthopaedic department is the busiest at the hospital; since opening, CoRSU has seen 740 people at the orthopaedic clinic; of these, about 200 have been operated on. The most common cases handled by this department are bone and joint infections, club foot, post-injection paralysis or injection-induced diseases, angular bone deformities, fractures and trauma. Many of these disabilities are caused by poverty, malnutrition, poor hygiene, improper use of injections by poorly-trained health workers, lack of awareness among parents and accidents.
 
The plastic department has completed 174 surgical procedures and 155 operations. The commonest cases worked on are cleft lips and palates (68 operations) and post-burn contractures (43 operations) caused by candles or cooking fires. Many cases of cleft lip and palate are referred from Gulu, in northern Uganda, a region adversely affected by the rebel insurgency of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Joseph Kony. Relative peace has returned to the area, enabling the successful referral of people with cleft palate and lips to CoRSU.
 
The physiotherapy department promotes the health and well being of clients through rehabilitation services. During the month of April and May, 362 patient consultations were done; of these 96 were adults (males 71 and 25 females). In addition 266 children were seen (males 169 and females 97). The department provides therapy to outpatients, admits patients and participates in ward rounds.

Therapies provided include manual therapy like massage, stretching, manual resistance training, joint mobilisation and manipulation including spinal mobilisation. There are also electro-therapy techniques such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and infrared radiation therapy. The physiotherapists do exercise programs such as posture retraining, muscle strengthening and stretching. Patients are issued appliances such as crutches, hand splints, neck collars and triangular bandages, and equipped with information and education on the use of equipment aids and assistive devices like special seats, wheel chairs, standing and walking devices.
 
The Community Based Rehabilitation Department (CBR) department is responsible for the identification, referral and follow-up of children with disabilities in CoRSU and other health facilities in the areas around Kisubi and other neighbouring areas of Kampala and Wakiso districts. Because of the work of this department a number of children have been diagnosed and operated with the goal of improving their standards of living and reducing or preventing further disability. For more information and to download CoRSU’s annual report, go to http://www.corsu.or.ug/

 
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