Parliament raises concerns over dialysis services in Mbale, Lira hospitals
Soroti City Woman MP Joan Acom Alobo told Parliament that the dialysis centre at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital had recently experienced shortages of water and other essential supplies.
Parliament raises concerns over dialysis services in Mbale, Lira hospitals
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Parliament has raised concerns over shortages of water and essential supplies at dialysis centres in Mbale and Lira general hospitals.
Soroti City Woman MP Joan Acom Alobo told Parliament that the dialysis centre at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital had recently experienced shortages of water and other essential supplies.
Alobo told the House, chaired by Speaker Jackson Oboth, that on several occasions she had personally supplied water to the centre because her father receives dialysis there.
“The centre is like ICU and disabling it is like switching off oxygen. My question is why a critical unit of this nature should experience shortages of basic supplies and equipment?” she asked.
She also told Parliament that three patients had died after they could not receive treatment in Mbale and were referred elsewhere.
Alobo said dialysis patients include children and young people, challenging the perception that the treatment is mainly for older people.
“Many people used to say dialysis is for the old. But when you go to those centres, you find people below 10, 12, 18, doing dialysis. So, what can be done to rescue the situation?” she asked.
Health state minister Anifa Kawooya said the ministry responded after receiving information about the situation at Mbale.
“When this information reached the ministry, I rushed to the hospital and the water was immediately restored,” Kawooya said.
She said the ministry was also addressing challenges involving equipment and power and had called a meeting to discuss problems affecting general hospitals.
Kawooya added that she would visit Soroti to assess health service challenges there.
During the plenary, other MPs raised concerns about livestock diseases threatening Parish Development Model investments in Kaabong, the status of sh26 billion reportedly allocated for Tororo district headquarters and the construction of bridges in Adjumani district.
Dodoth East MP Peter Pex Paak raised concern over livestock diseases and parasites threatening cattle acquired by residents through the Parish Development Model.
Park said beneficiaries had invested in cattle but were losing animals because of diseases and parasites.
He asked the Government to waive vaccination charges for the affected communities, strengthen livestock disease surveillance and intensify efforts to control tsetse flies.
Aceng said she would alert the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries about the concerns raised in Kaabong and the wider Karamoja region.
Tororo MP Nicholas Owino questioned the status of the sh26 billion reportedly allocated for the construction of Tororo district headquarters.
Owino raised the matter as local government minister Balaam Barugahara visited Tororo last week.
He said residents wanted to know what had happened to the money announced for the project because they had not seen any construction work.
Newly elected Adjumani West MP James Leku Pilli used his maiden speech to pay tribute to his predecessor, the late Gen. Moses Ali, and pledged to pursue projects and issues that the former MP had championed.
Leku said one of the priorities was the construction of a bridge across the Nile towards Moyo, as well as improving the road through Obongi towards South Sudan.
He said he would carry on from where Moses Ali stopped and work to complete projects initiated during his predecessor's tenure.
Works state minister Julius Maganda said the late Gen. Moses Ali had repeatedly advocated for the bridge, and that the Government had already identified funds for the project. He said a contract would soon be awarded to allow construction to begin.