Soroti Hospital budget cut
May 29, 2008
The Ministry of Finance has not released funds to Soroti Hospital to buy drugs for this month.
By Steven Candia
The Ministry of Finance has not released funds to Soroti Hospital to buy drugs for this month.
This has crippled the operations of the hospital, putting the lives of patients at a risk. The hospital was meant to receive sh291m for medical and veterinary supplies.
On May 20, the medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr. Bernard Odu, wrote to the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Richard Muhinda, seeking his intervention.
“The Ministry of Finance has not released funds to the hospital. This has been done without any official communications. When we contacted the hospital desk officer in the Ministry of Finance, he told us that the budget had been cut but could not explain in detail.â€
The primary health care state minister, Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, on Tuesday said he was not aware of the budget cut.
“Given the fact that the permanent secretary has been out of the country, this could be the reason why it has not come to my attention.†He said the hospital would access the drugs from the National Medical Stores under a credit scheme.
The Ministry of Finance has not released funds to Soroti Hospital to buy drugs for this month.
This has crippled the operations of the hospital, putting the lives of patients at a risk. The hospital was meant to receive sh291m for medical and veterinary supplies.
On May 20, the medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr. Bernard Odu, wrote to the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Richard Muhinda, seeking his intervention.
“The Ministry of Finance has not released funds to the hospital. This has been done without any official communications. When we contacted the hospital desk officer in the Ministry of Finance, he told us that the budget had been cut but could not explain in detail.â€
The primary health care state minister, Dr. Emmanuel Otaala, on Tuesday said he was not aware of the budget cut.
“Given the fact that the permanent secretary has been out of the country, this could be the reason why it has not come to my attention.†He said the hospital would access the drugs from the National Medical Stores under a credit scheme.