By Flavia Ajok
Locals in Hoima City and beyond have decried poor service delivery at the Hoima regional referral hospital in which they are demanding for immediate ministry of health intervention in order to restore sanity at the facility.
The locals highlighted the issues on Tuesday evening in a Community Baraza organized by the State House Health Monitoring Unit held at Hoima Booma grounds, where most of them expressed disappointments on the services being offered at the facility.
The Tuesday dialogue was a climax of over three weeks of monitoring and supervision of the regional facility by a team from State House Monitoring Unit.
David Kasana, John Bosco Ruhweza and Moreen Kusemererwa, all residents of Hoima City reported that they are always asked to buy drugs yet they should be free, doctors and nurses at the facility are reluctant and fond of neglecting patients especially those without money among others.
Other locals like Jenifer Karungi from Hoima City and Tadeo Asaba from Buliisa district cited lack of empathy among the hospital staff whenever a patient dies saying caretakers are always harassed to remove the body from the hospital yet they are already in a moment of sorrow.
They also complained about the UPDF officers deployed at the facility gate whom they accused of sometimes mistreating them. The other issue highlighted pointed on the appalling state of sanitation at the facility especially the toilets and lack of mosquito nets on beds at the facility to protect patients from mosquito bites.
Dr. Ibrahim Bwagga, the Acting hospital director appreciated the community members for the feedback regarding their service delivery, noting that they take all positive criticism as a yardstick for improvement on their services.
Margret Abigaba, a staff at the hospital highlighted a challenge of a high number of patients seeking services at the facility which leads rampant drug shortage.
Dr. Elijah Ssemaganda Assistant Director for State House Health Monitoring Unit disclosed that the multiple issues raised like theft of drugs, lightening arrestors, rudeness among some staff have turned out to be true adding that some health workers are currently under .investigations
