Prime
Upgraded hospitals struggle with facilities
An ambulance grounded at Amuria district hospital. The facility was previously a health centre IV. PHOTO/ SIMON PETER EMWAMU
What you need to know:
- Staff accommodation is still a nightmare and capacity to handle more patients.
When Katakwi Health Centre IV was upgraded to a hospital in 2011, residents eagerly hoped to access health services easily. Health workers too hoped that the patient load would reduce. But nine years later, the hospital still receives the same funding and faces the same challenges.
The health facility, which also serves neighbouring districts of Kapelebyong, Napak, and Abim has only four doctors who handle more than 600 patients on a daily basis.
This is contrary to what government intended when it decided to upgrade some health centre IVs across the country to hospitals.
The aim was to improve health services and enable the hospitals offer specialised services. Consequently, this would decongest Mulago National Referral Hospital.
Katakwi hospital and many of the recently upgraded health facilities are still struggling with staffing gaps, limited funds, and in some occasions going without basic drugs for weeks or months.
“We have indicative planning figures of Shs35m per quarter from which we purchase drugs and ensure payment of non-essential staff,” Dr Benjamin Opus, the medical superintendent of Katakwi hospital, says.
Dr Opus notes that the hospital needs more doctors from the four to at least 16 while nurses from 40 to about 80 to operate optimally .
For now, the facility is waiting on the request from Mr Seraphine Alia, the district chief administrative officer, to the ministries of Finance and Public Service on filling the staffing gaps.
“The staff ceiling bars all our aspirations of recruiting,” Mr Alia says.
Besides that, the hospitals lack x-ray machines, scanners and dental departments, making patients seek private health services at exorbitant fees, hard to meet by many.
Other health facilities with a series of problems irrespective of being upgraded is Kaberamaido hospital which serves Kalaki, Dokolo and Amolatar districts.
The facility, which gained district hospital status on November 4, 2018, operates at a staffing capacity of 30 per cent.
“Out of the most needed 190 health staff, we only have 58 medical workers serving more than 200,000 people. However, last financial year, we received full medical supplies at the level of a general hospital, save for the non-wage which has been stuck at Shs58m,” Dr James Odongo, the district health officer, says.
He is optimistic that funding will increase because the new indicative planning figures for 2020-2021 financial year from the Ministry of Health show that the hospital will start receiving Shs260m for non-wage per annum.
Despite this increment, Mr Odongo says dental surgeons, specialised health officers and pharmacists continue to elude the hospital, adding that the only dental officer they have is a diploma holder.
They had hoped to get more recruits this year but the Covid-19 pandemic complicated the efforts.
“We hope in the next financial year, the ministry sends back that money for recruitment, although it will not enable us to fill all gaps available,” Dr Odongo says. Despite a slight increment in budgetary allocation to Shs2.7 trillion for 2020/2021 financial year from Shs2.5 trillion the previous year for hospitals in eastern and northern regions, they still face the perennial drug shortages and limited funding.
“Our staffing is fairly good but our biggest challenges are issues of supplies such as drugs and gloves because what we get from the National Medical Store does not last for two months,” Mr Patrick Odong Olwedo, the Amuru District health officer, says of Amuria hospital.
Staff accommodation is still a nightmare and capacity to handle more patients.
The script is the same for hospitals in Omoro, Pader, Agago and Kitgum districts.
Other health centres which were cleared for hospital status are still stuck.
“On paper, we have Muko district hospital but in operations, we have Muko Health Centre IV because government has not yet considered our council resolution of elevating it to hospital status,” Mr Pastoli Twinomuhangi, the Rubanda District vice chairperson, says.
Nsinze hospital in Namutumba District has also been in the same maze since 2006 when several requests to government to fully equip the unit to a level of a referral hospital were not honoured.
“We do not have a blood bank, no operation theatre and no mortuary, among others. All those services are supposed to be offered but they are not there,” Dr James Kirya, the district health officer, says.
“The Ministry of Health says Nsinze does not qualify to be a referral hospital because Namutumba has not met a population of 500,000,” he adds.
In a September 5, 2019 letter, Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health said upon upgrading Amuria, Kaberamaido, Mukono, Luweero, Kamwenge and Kayuga health centre IV to general hospitals, additional funding had been availed for staff recruitment and operationalisation of this respective hospitals at Shs700m each.
On what the ministry has in plan for district hospitals, Dr Atwine says in the next financial year, the upgraded facilities in different years have been allocated funds but did not state the amounts.
“I need to be in office to be able to give you the exact figures,” she said yesterday.
But one concern remains. “There is still a lot government needs to do in order to have the health sector fully functional because a lot has been said and promises made,” Mr John Komakech Ogwok, the Lamwo District chairperson, says.
By Simon Peter Emwamu, Polycap Kalokwera, Robert Muhereza, Philip Wafula, Ronald Seebe & Bill Oketch
