Paul D'Arbela

Professor Paul D'Arbela MBChB, FRCP, is a Ugandan physician, cardiologist, academic and medical researcher. Currently he is a Professor of Medicine and Dean of Postgraduate Studies at the Mother Kevin Postgraduate Medical School, based at St. Francis Hospital Nsambya in Nsambya, Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and the largest city in that country.

Background

He was born in 1937, in what at that time was Kyaggwe County and later became known as Mukono District, but today is known as Buikwe District, in Central Uganda.

Education

D'Arbela was educated at Namilyango Junior School, from P1 to P4. He attended St. Peter's School Nsambya for P5. He transferred to Nkokonjeru Primary School in the middle of P5. The following year, he was moved to Jinja College, where he skipped P6 because he was so bright. He attended P7 and P8 at Jinja College. Back then, there was a P8, which was eventually abolished in 1966.

In 1951, at the age of fourteen, he was admitted to St. Mary's College Kisubi, for his secondary school education, from S1 to S6.^[1] From Kisubi, he entered Makerere University Medical School to study Medicine in 1957. He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) in 1962.

He later went to London, England for further studies at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and at Hammersmith Hospital. While there, he obtained the degree of Member of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP UK), specialising in Cardiology. Later, he was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

Work experience

D'Arbela was a lecturer and later, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at Makerere University, from the late 1960s until 1978, serving as Head of Department for most of that period. During the same timeframe he worked as a Consultant Cardiologist and later as a Senior Consultant Cardiologist at Mulago National Referral Hospital, the teaching hospital of Makerere University. He also served as a personal physician to Idi Amin who ruled Uganda from 1971 until 1979.

After leaving Makerere, D'Arbela started private practice, as well as consulting services at Lubaga Hospital. In 1982, he left Uganda for a sabbatical at his alma mater in London, United Kingdom. In 1983, he was able to arrange for his wife and their six children to join him in the UK.

When he left the United Kingdom, he accepted a job offer in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, where he worked until 2006, when he returned to Uganda. He has served as the director of the Heart Center Limited, a specialised cardiology clinic in Nakasero, Kampala, since his return to Uganda. He has published the finding of his research in numerous medical journals and other peer publications. He was appointed Professor of Medicine & Dean of Postgraduate Studies at Uganda Martyrs University School of Medicine, in 2010.^[2]

Personal details

D'Arbela is married and together with his wife, they are the parents of six adult children.

See also

References

External links

• Profile of Paul Darbela At Sundayvision.co.ug