Africa-Press – Uganda. The government has directed the withdrawal of all government support from Kilembe Mines Hospital in Kasese District.
In a January 31 letter by the Health minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, to the chairperson of the Health Committee of Parliament, she reasons that the withdrawal is because the facility is located near the River Nyamwamba catchment area and it has constantly suffered the effects of floods.
“The hospital was affected by floods, which happened on May 1, 2013, May 5, 2014, and most recently on May 7 and May 10 in 2020. We cannot continue providing funds to a hospital that is prone to recurrent destruction,” the minister wrote.
“I responded to this issue providing comprehensive chronology leading to the decision and also providing a government plan to mitigate the effect of closure of Kilembe Mines Hospital and to ensure that the government continues to offer health services to the population of Kasese municipality,” the letter further reads.
Dr Aceng promised that once Kilembe Mines is revamped and River Nyamwamba is desilted, the hospital will be reinstated.
Last year, the government with funding from the World Bank of Shs17b, contracted Ambitious Construction Company to desilt 5.4 kilometres on hotspot areas of River Nyamwamba.
The health facility, which has existed for more than 50 years, has been in operation under the tripartite management of Kasese Catholic Diocese, Kilembe Mines Copper Limited, and the government. This means after the government withdraws its support, the facility will either close or remain in operation under the management of the Catholic Church and the copper mineral company.
According to the Health ministry, the withdrawal of government support will see the upgrade of Rukoki Health Centre IV in Kasese Municipality to a General Hospital. This means the current primary healthcare funds will support patients in Rukoki Hospital.
“To address the service delivery gap, the Ministry of Health is upgrading Rukoki Health Centre IV to a General Hospital and there are plans to construct a health Centre III in Bulembia Division to increase access to primary healthcare to the population of the catchment of Kilembe Mines Hospital,” Minister Aceng’s letter further reads.
In December last year, the Permanent Secretary of the Health ministry, Dr Diana Atwine, wrote to the Executive Director of the Joint Medical Stores informing him of its decision to deactivate Kilembe Mines Hospital and transfer the Essential Medicines and Health Supplies credit line worth Shs353m to other health facilities in Kasese.
To implement the said government decision, the chief administrative officer (CAO) of Kasese, Mr Elias Byamungu, has since directed the District Health Officer to redeploy all the health staff at the hospital to other health facilities.
Mr Byamungu also asked the medical superintendent of Kilembe Mines Hospital to prepare the details of the staff who had previously been posted to the same facility for redeployment. Further, the CAO directed the facility management to stop making requisitions for any more funds and to take stock of all equipment with the assistance of Kasese District or Municipal Council auditor for handover within the next two weeks.
In May 2020, the management of Kilembe Mines Hospital shifted to Kasese Town, about eight kilometres away, after part of the facility was washed away by floods from River Nyamwamba. The healthcare services were relocated to Mt St Michael Day Care and Nursery, the premises of the Catholic Diocese.
This publication has established that in 2022, the hospital management started shifting back its services to Kilembe Mines.
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