Patients stranded as city clerk closes health centre
Patients at Princess Diana Health Centre IV in Soroti City last Tuesday. Patients who receive medical care from Princess Diana Health Centre IV in Soroti City are stuck after the facility was closed to pave way for renovation works which have yet to commence. Photo / George Muron
What you need to know:
- A March 7 letter bearing the city clerk’s stamp, which was pinned at the facility’s gate and on the notice boards, barred the health workers from receiving and attending to patients at the outpatient department (OPD).
Patients who receive medical care from Princess Diana Health Centre IV in Soroti City are stuck after the facility was closed to pave way for renovation works, which are yet to commence.
A March 7 letter bearing the city clerk’s stamp, which was pinned at the facility’s gate and on the notice boards, barred the health workers from receiving and attending to patients at the outpatient department (OPD).
“This is to inform you that renovation works for the OPD block will start on March 14 and will run for a period of three months. The public is, therefore, informed to seek health care services from other lower facilities within the city and Soroti Regional Referral Hospital for the period of works,” the letter reads in part.
The Soroti City Clerk, Mr Ambrose Ochen, confirmed issuing directive to the facility’s management to evacuate the OPD for renovation works, which has been contracted to Inofit Investments Ltd at Shs171m.
“The employer is supposed to hand over the site to the contractor when it is free of encumbrances but our officers are delaying to vacate the site. That is why the renovation works are delayed,” Mr Ocen said in an interview last week.
When Daily Monitor visited the facility last Tuesday, patients who visited the facility were being sent back home without treatment.
Ms Sarah Asikeit, one of the patients, said: “They have been sending us away without treatment. They say there is no medicine and that doctors are not allowed to receive patients.”
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Ms Christine Alaba, a patient from Madera, said last Tuesday, she sought treatment at the facility but left at 4pm without receiving any care.
The Resident City Councillor (RCC), Mr Peter Pex Paak, urged the city council authorities to reopen the facility.
“Renovating the facility does not mean that you close it,” Mr Paak said.
In another development, Mr Ochen has barred Dr Alfred Anyonga, who is serving as the acting officer-in-charge of Princes Diana Health Centre IV, from conducting certain official duties including authorising medicine from the stores to the respective wards.
This has resulted in the closure of the facility’s drug store and a total of 528 clients missing their medication, according to a source in the ART clinic at the facility.
When contacted regarding the matter, Mr Ochen accused Dr Anyonga of negligence of duty, saying the latter abandoned his role of authorising medicine to the wards.
In response to this, Dr Anyonga said his boss restrained him from authorising medicine to the wards.
Dr Anyonga has been acting as the officer-in-charge for the last five years.
