Africa-Press – Uganda. The management of Masaka Regional Referral Hospital has renewed tenancy agreements for health workers occupying the staff quarters, with a call to them to always meet their obligations.
All staff tenancy agreements expired on June 30 and management had threatened to evict all health workers from staff quarters if they failed to renew their tenancy agreements.
According to Dr James Elima , the hospital director, although health workers housed in the staff quarters are supposed to contribute a small functional fee of Shs50,000 to the hospital, a big number of them are fond of defaulting, which, he says, affects their planning.
“All those[health workers] that are accommodated at the staff quarters are aware that they have to pay some little money to the hospital management but you find that some take more than five months without paying this money; this has to stop because it affects service delivery,” he said during an interview on Sunday.
Policy shift
Dr Elima, however, said they are considering introducing a policy of providing accommodation to young staff that have just joined service because older staff can either rent outside the hospital or build their own houses.
“I think we must all support that policy where young health workers can occupy the staff quarters and those who have stayed there for a long time move and rent outside.,” he added.
Usually, priority for accommodation at the staff
quarters is given to staff working in maternity, accident, and emergency as well as operating theatre departments.
Mr Charles Tumushime, the hospital principal administrator, also warned health workers who are fond of renting out the houses to non-staff, saying they risk having their tenancy agreements cancelled.
“There is a proper procedure of acquiring a house but in the previous years, there has been a tendency of staff renting out houses,” he said.
He also noted that the hospital is in the final stage of installing pre-paid meters on all houses to address the challenge of health workers, who default on the payment of their utility bills, which at times leads to disconnections.
Currently, the hospital has a total of 286 health workers, but it can only provide housing facilities to a small percentage, which at times affects health service delivery at the facility.
Some the staff quarters at the hospital were commissioned in 2014 and the new ones under construction will replace the worn out houses that were constructed in 1946.
According to Public Service Standing Orders, Section H-B on tenancy estates that a public officer or any other tenant occupying a government house shall, unless otherwise stated, pay rent. The rent payable shall be determined by the responsible permanent secretary in consultation with the government valuer.
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