Kawempe Hospital to acquire sh18 billion land for expansion

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Kawempe National Referral Hospital is poised for a major expansion after the government committed sh18 billion in the upcoming budget to facilitate additional land acquisition, a move expected to ease chronic congestion.

The development was revealed last week as the hospital’s technical team, led by Executive Director Emmanuel Byaruhanga, appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Goreth Namugga. The team was responding to audit queries for the financial year ending December 2025.

Byaruhanga told legislators that while the hospital was originally designed to accommodate 200 patients, it is currently handling up to 350 at any given time, which he described as “a very big problem” that has strained service delivery and infrastructure.

Among the interventions, the hospital has focused on strengthening lower health units to reduce unnecessary referrals. Facilities such as Kawala Health Centre IV and Kisenyi Health Centre IV have been supported to handle less critical maternal and neonatal cases.

Byaruhanga noted that the hospital has initiated the establishment of small-scale Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) in these facilities to manage conditions such as birth asphyxia that do not require advanced ventilation support.

“We have started small NICUs in Kawala and Kisenyi so they can handle babies who don’t necessarily need ventilators. This reduces the pressure on our facility,” he explained.

Additionally, the hospital has operationalised the Kampala Local Maternity and Neonatal System, an accountability and coordination platform aimed at streamlining referrals. Through this system, health workers can consult specialists at Kawempe Hospital via phone before referring patients, allowing for real-time guidance on managing complications such as postpartum haemorrhage.

“This system ensures that some mothers are managed at lower facilities without necessarily being referred, which helps reduce congestion,” Byaruhanga said.

Despite these efforts, space constraints remain a critical bottleneck, hence the urgency to expand the hospital’s footprint. Byaruhanga revealed that the government had previously initiated the process of acquiring adjacent land, estimated at about half an acre, but the effort stalled at the valuation stage due to a lack of funding.

“Good enough, sh18 billion has been promised for land acquisition in this budget. Most landowners around the hospital are willing to sell, except for one piece to the north, which has ownership wrangles,” he noted.

The hospital’s Senior Economist, Andrew Asasira, told the committee that the land acquisition process had already been reactivated following the release of the Medium-Term Framework in February.

He added that several landowners have already submitted copies of their land titles and identification documents, paving the way for due diligence processes such as land searches and fresh valuations.

“One of the properties had been valued about three years ago, but we are going to redo the valuation to reflect current market rates. We expect that by April or May, we should be concluding the valuation phase and entering into agreements,” he explained.

Members of Parliament, however, raised concerns about persistent congestion at the hospital, particularly caused by the high number of patient attendants.

Joseph Sewungu questioned the hospital’s policy on caretakers, noting that while attendants play a critical role in patient care, their numbers often overwhelm available facilities, affecting sanitation and utility services.

In response, Byaruhanga acknowledged the challenge, stating that although the hospital has a clear policy limiting attendants to one per patient, enforcement has proven difficult.

To mitigate the situation, the hospital has introduced identification cards for attendants and set up tents outside the main wards to accommodate excess caregivers. However, these measures have not fully addressed the problem, as enforcement often triggers public complaints.

Namugga emphasised the need for improved communication strategies to ensure public compliance with hospital policies. She warned that overcrowding not only affects service delivery but also poses serious health risks.

“We need to regulate this. The issue is communication because people can comply if they are properly informed. If they know that only a certain number of attendants are allowed, they will adjust and even create shifts,” Namugga said.