Nwoya district currently has only 247 health workers out of the 672 required, leaving a staffing gap of 425 positions, or about 64%.
By Willy Chowoo
When 68-year-old Abur Mary left Pabit Cell in Purongo Town Council for Anaka General Hospital, she hoped to receive treatment for her persistent pain.
After covering a distance of about 15.5km, instead, her hope began to fade as she waited in a long queue with other patients seeking medical attention.
“I could hear people booking to see the medics on phone,” Abur narrates.
After eventually being attended to by a clinician, Abur was referred to see a doctor. She was relieved that she would finally receive further medical attention.
But the relief did not last.
She waited throughout the day without seeing the doctor and eventually left the hospital without receiving the treatment she had hoped for.
“I would want to ask if Anaka Hospital is not for older persons like me,” Abur asked during a community baraza in Purongo Town Council.
Her experience, according to health officials, reflects a wider challenge facing Nwoya District’s health sector, where severe staff shortages are putting pressure on health workers and affecting patients’ access to healthcare services.
Nwoya District Health Officer Dr James Okello said the district currently has only 247 health workers out of the 672 required, leaving a staffing gap of 425 positions, or about 64%.
At Anaka Hospital, the situation is similarly challenging. The hospital has 174 health workers against an approved staffing requirement of 343, meaning only 50.7% of the required positions are filled.
The shortage, officials say, has left health workers overwhelmed by the number of patients seeking services.
For Abur, the experience has discouraged her from returning to the hospital. Since May, she says, she has relied on medicines bought from private clinics without a medical diagnosis to manage her pain.
“I have refused to go back to the hospital. I am now buying drugs without diagnosis from clinics to enable me to sleep,” she says. “With the experience, I thought Anaka Hospital was not for elderly people.”
Abur says she has been using Vitamin D Complex to manage the pain. She also has swollen legs.
Dr Okello apologised to Abur over her experience at the hospital and acknowledged the pressure caused by the staffing shortage.
The problem is not limited to Anaka Hospital. At Purongo Health Centre III, for example, only 14 health workers are available against a required 43, leaving a staffing gap of 29 positions, or about 67.4%.
Nwoya District has Anaka as its main hospital and relies on Health Centre IIIs for lower-level health services, with no Health Centre IV in the district.
Richard Matete, the District Chief Administrative Officer, urged health workers to maintain professionalism despite the workload.
To improve efficiency, the district has also started implementing the government’s electronic patient-clerking system.
“We have distributed tablets to all the health units in order to improve accuracy and easy tracking of patients,” Dr Okello said.
However, he noted that some health workers trained to use the tablets are still inexperienced. As a result, the electronic system can sometimes take longer because health workers are required to use both paper and electronic clerking systems.
Nwoya District Assistant Resident District Commissioner Opwonya Michael also cautioned health workers against mistreating patients, saying staff shortages should not be used as a justification for denying patients care.
“When a patient has come to the hospital, you need not chase them away,” Michael said.
He cited a case in which a woman in labour was reportedly turned away from a health facility at Purongo Health Centre III because she did not have a mama kit. She later gave birth at an open space at Purongo Trading Centre.
The staffing challenge extends beyond the health sector, with shortages in several government departments affecting service delivery across the district.
Nwoya District Local Government Chairperson Okello Patrick Oryema urged the government to expedite the recruitment of staff to fill vacant positions and improve service delivery.
The district is currently having only ambulance the whole district with a population of – and the hospital doesn’t have a cemetery, the unclaimed bodies are being buried at the hospital land.
The community baraza was organised by Nwoya District Local Government in partnership with The Hunger Project
