Gov't plans major reforms in health sector

KAMPALA - As part of wider reforms tailored to improving service delivery in the next five years, government is planning a raft of major reforms in the health sector which it hopes will positively impact on a sector that became a major electoral issue during the recently concluded presidential polls.

From establishing a hospital authority, ministry of health having a say in the accreditation process of universities that teach human medicine, to establishing stringent requirements for people who seek to study human medicine, Minister of Health (MoH), Dr. Elioda Tumwesige says the mooted reforms are long overdue.

"Reforming our sector is the way to go and it's long overdue.  The challenges facing the health sector are many and it cannot be business as usual. One of the proposals is to establish a hospital authority to manage big hospitals," Tumwesige told lawmakers sitting on the health committee on Wednesday.

Tumwesige with state ministers for health, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi (General Duties) and Sarah Opendi (Primary Healthcare), director general health services, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng and a number of technocrats from MoH in tow was meeting lawmakers over the ministry's budget estimates for the next financial year.

"The idea is that ounce an authority is established, doctors and other health workers in government hospitals can be paid their gratuity and be recruited afresh based on their competences. Under this arrangement, health workers will be paid decent wages but any laxity or negligence will result into get sacked," Tumwesige said.

Tumwesige was responding to an earlier presentation by Dr. Diana Atwine, the head of drug monitoring unit, in which she highlighted the malaise in MoH ranging from absenteeism of health workers, misuse of expensively equipment, to an X-ray machine lying idle in a box at Kamuli hospital for 12 years.

Atwine had raised apprehension about the number of medical doctors and pharmacists being churned out by some privately owned universities, doubting whether such universities have capacity to train such personnel en mass.

"How is it possible that one privately owned university can have 900 doctors graduating at ago and no one raises a red flag? How is it possible that someone with three points gets admitted to university to study pharmacy?" Atwine said.

Under the current legal regime, it's the duty of National Council for Higher Education to license to universities to teach given courses at university level.

However, Tumwesige and Baryomunsi told MPs that MoH needs to play a role in accrediting universities that teach human medicine.

In doing this, Tumwesige said Uganda will be picking a leaf from countries like Cuba where it's the sole prerogative of the health ministry to not only design the curriculum but also accredit universities that teach human medicine.

Baryomunsi also revealed that plans are underway to have graduate doctors sit one final national exam before taking the Hippocratic Oath as qualified doctors.  This, Baryomunsi said, will help to act as a final barrier to incompetent doctors that seek to join the profession.

Baryomunsi said that picking a leaf from the legal profession which has instituted pre-entry examination for lawyers seeking to acquire a diploma in legal practice will not be asking too much. The mooted reforms are under consideration by cabinet.