Africa-Press – Uganda. Rubirizi District locals have decried the continued poor services at Rugazi Health Centre IV.
The district, which was carved out of Bushenyi in 2010, has one health centre IV in Bunyaruguru County, which serves about 140,000 people.
“I brought here my son who was suffering from malaria two days ago but they told me that there were no drugs and they advised me to buy them from clinics before they could treat my son,” Mr Ismail Kanzara, a resident, said on Monday.
“After buying drugs for my son’s treatment, I was left with no money but health workers wanted money to treat him so I decided to give them my wife’s national identity card so that they can treat my son as I look for money,” Mr Kanzara said.
Ms Annet Kobusingye, a resident of Kicwamba Sub-county, said many people had stopped seeking health services from the facility.
“Here drugs might be for the nurses and doctors because they even send you to a specific clinic to buy medicine. I came with Shs20,000 and I had an expectant mother and they told me that they cannot work on the lady without first scanning her,” Ms Kobusingye said.
She added that her phone was confiscated so that she could settle the bill.
“We are suffering a lot because of poor service delivery in our community and people no longer like coming to health facilities because they are not being helped,” Ms Kobusingye said.
The Rubirizi District Chairperson, Mr Sylvester Agubanshongerera, said the situation can only be improved if the current officer-in-charge of the facility is transferred.
“She has led it for a long time and has relaxed. We need to change leadership so that we can put a person who knows about management and we have already discussed about it in the council. The district health officer and the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) are aware,” Mr Agubanshongerera said.
The RDC, Ms Harriet Nakamya, said the officer-in-charge of the facility has not done enough to improve service delivery, adding that the district has given her several warnings.
“We are going to arrest the officer-in-charge because we have warned her many times with the District Health Officer. If it is necessary, we shall arrest her as well because this is too much, she is giving the hospital a bad image,” Ms Nakamya said last Saturday.
“We went to the health centre and there was no health worker, that is very bad. We have two doctors and more than 10 health workers at Rugazi Health Centre IV, who are all paid by government but they all left the hospital because of a party. That is irresponsibility,’’ she said.
The facility says
The officer-in-charge of Rugazi Health Centre IV, Ms Aidah Nankinga, when contacted declined to comment on the accusations against her and the facility.
The assistant medical officer at the facility, Mr Tony Kitamirike, said they serve a big population and the supply of medicine is inadequate.
“When they bring drugs in February, they come back in April, by March we do not have drugs. Everything gets used up so fast but for essentials like gloves, we always tell patients to supplement because they are always not enough,” Mr Kitamirike said.
Minister for Local Government Raphael Magyezi, who visited the health centre last Saturday during the district’s belated commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day, decried the poor services.
“I have seen that drugs, aspirin and everything here is bought, so what does government give people. I want to ask those on health committees of health units to put in a lot of effort in monitoring and supervising services rendered to the people,” Mr Magyezi said.
He added: “Health workers should improve the way they handle patients. Confiscating a patient’s phone so that he can first pay you, is very terrible. We are going to take the matter to the Ministry of Health.”
Mr Magyezi said it is the role of local governments to monitor and supervise service delivery, adding that some of them were not playing their roles.
