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Gulu hospital lacks specialised health workers
Treatment. Patients wait in queue to get treatment at a Gulu hospital TB ward in 2019. PHOTO/FILE.
What you need to know:
- Gulu hospital is a public hospital, funded by the Ministry of Health and the general medical care in the hospital is free. It is also one of the two teaching hospitals of the medical school of Gulu University.
Gulu Regional Referral Hospital lacks specialists and consultants to offer specialised care to patients at the facility, Daily Monitor has learnt.
Some of the specialists recruited at the facility have left.
The hospital is now in dire need of obstetrician-gynaecologist, paediatrician, community health specialists and surgeons.
Dr Florence Oyella, the acting director of Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, yesterday said the facility has only four special grade medical officers.
She made the remarks during the commissioning of a modern incinerator worth Shs172 million.
“The staff on the ground are dedicated and willing to perform their duties but we are understaffed. We request the ministry to come to our rescue,” Dr Oyella said.
The absence of specialists compromises the quality of healthcare. Patients who require specialised care are transferred to either Lacor Hospital or to Mulago National Referral Hospital.
The waste management facility was constructed by Baylor-Uganda through funding from the World Bank and African Development Bank.
Dr Oyella appealed to the Health ministry to recruit more health workers to handle the overwhelming number of patients seeking health services.
Dr Jackson Amone, the commissioner of clinical services at the Ministry of Health, said he would table the challenges faced by the hospital before a senior management meeting.
“The matter will be discussed and we shall see how to come up with a solution,” Dr Amone said.
The State minister for Primary Healthcare, Dr Joyce Moriku Kaducu, said: “People are posted but are not willing to come and stay upcountry, the next day you see them going to the centre to seek transfers.”
“We need to change the mindset of the health workers. It is a challenge to get specialised persons to work in upcountry hospitals such as Gulu and Lira,” Dr Kaducu said.
Medical services
Gulu hospital is a public hospital, funded by the Ministry of Health and the general medical care in the hospital is free. It is also one of the two teaching hospitals of the medical school of Gulu University.
