Health facilities need close supervision
Sep 14, 2011
MULAGO Hospital has acquired machines and other items worth sh250m to improve service delivery. The equipment was bought by the Government. This is commendable.
MULAGO Hospital has acquired machines and other items worth sh250m to improve service delivery. The equipment was bought by the Government. This is commendable.
However, a damning report submitted to Parliament about Mulago last week is shocking. Mulago is the only national referral hospital in the country but the report reveals that the procurement procedure is abused to the extent that even factory rejects are procured by the hospital.
There is no accountability and staff morale is low. The fraud eating up Mulago translates into suffering, loss of lives and money.
All this points to poor management and there is need for strict supervision of health facilities all over the country.
Opposition leader Nandala Mafabi’s tour of health centres in western Uganda a fortnight ago and the frequent visits by the monitoring unit in the office of the President of health centres in the country is instructive.
Regular physical presence and supervision in our hospitals and health centres can improve service delivery because it is a sure way of assessing the situation on the ground. Most of the health centres visited were found to be in a poor state.
The general impression of hospitals and health centres in the country is that a lot needs to be done. Health centres and hospitals are under the Ministry of Health. Why should it take the monitoring unit and Mafabi to inspect health centres? Is it a demonstration that someone is not doing their job?
The policy makers in the health sector ought to pick a leaf from the monitoring unit in order to establish what is happening on the ground. It is this assessment that will lead to informed and effective solutions in our health facilities countrywide.
Vigilance and timely intervention by the health officials at the ministry is essential to ensure that systems and policies are not abused. A stitch in time saves nine.
However, a damning report submitted to Parliament about Mulago last week is shocking. Mulago is the only national referral hospital in the country but the report reveals that the procurement procedure is abused to the extent that even factory rejects are procured by the hospital.
There is no accountability and staff morale is low. The fraud eating up Mulago translates into suffering, loss of lives and money.
All this points to poor management and there is need for strict supervision of health facilities all over the country.
Opposition leader Nandala Mafabi’s tour of health centres in western Uganda a fortnight ago and the frequent visits by the monitoring unit in the office of the President of health centres in the country is instructive.
Regular physical presence and supervision in our hospitals and health centres can improve service delivery because it is a sure way of assessing the situation on the ground. Most of the health centres visited were found to be in a poor state.
The general impression of hospitals and health centres in the country is that a lot needs to be done. Health centres and hospitals are under the Ministry of Health. Why should it take the monitoring unit and Mafabi to inspect health centres? Is it a demonstration that someone is not doing their job?
The policy makers in the health sector ought to pick a leaf from the monitoring unit in order to establish what is happening on the ground. It is this assessment that will lead to informed and effective solutions in our health facilities countrywide.
Vigilance and timely intervention by the health officials at the ministry is essential to ensure that systems and policies are not abused. A stitch in time saves nine.