Health Workers warned against ‘useless’ workshops at the expense of patients

By Gerald Niyirinda

Health workers should stop attending workshops worth millions of taxpayers’ money at the expense of ailing patients, Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine, has cautioned.

Dr Atwine warned Kisoro medics against unnecessary workshops that waste billions of Government money.  

“This business of going to workshops all the time must stop. Moving up and down to Kabale, to Mbarara then coming back and people are not there…DHO you must show leadership. You attend to meetings but not physical.” Said Dr Atwine, as she addressed a brief meeting with Kisoro Hospital staff and officers from the District Health Department.

“We are tired of people loitering all over the place. We are really tired. And CAO, we don’t want to see the partners coming here conducting seminars all the time…people are moving up and down.

“There is no value at all. We have evaluated there is no value whatsoever. Let’s go back to the basics and take care of our patients. Our primary goal is to be available for our patients,” she warned.

On Monday, the PS was in Kisoro on a one-day tour of the ongoing construction of the isolation ward and theatre at Kisoro Hospital.

She appreciated the recent Virunga Marathon that was aimed at collecting funds to equip the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

“I want to thank you for the recent Virunga run that fundraised beds for the ICU. I know that we don’t have enough oxygen here, but I know that with time we shall have.

Our future longtime plan is that for a hospital like this, we have a tank for liquid oxygen,” noted Dr Atwine, adding that, “we want you to take care of the ICU when it is done, that is when it will make sense.”

According to the PS, Kisoro Hospital has improved on the performance, especially on attending to duty.

The Kisoro LC5 Chairperson, Abel Bizimana, accentuated Atwine’s stand on workshops, saying patients are abandoned on hospital beds unattended to as medics scamper for allowances.

“The DHOs, In-charges and Doctors are always running around in workshops. When patients are referred, they cannot get help because lower officers are left behind. Sometimes you can’t even get the CAO’s signature for days at the expense of workshops!” said Bizimana.

Meanwhile, the Kisoro Hospital Medical Superintendent, Dr Emmanuel Bahane, appreciated the Health Ministry for the projects.

He said he was happy that progress was at 60%, with completion expected by December this year.

During the tour, Atwine appreciated the progress on the projects, but urged the contractors to speed up the works to meet the deadline.

Geses Uganda Ltd contracted the isolation unit, while Denka Company Limited contracted the two theatres at Kisoro Hospital and Busanza Health Centre IV.

The projects are funded by World Bank through the Uganda Covid-19 Response and Emergency Preparedness Project (UCREPP), in the Ministry of Health.

According to Doreen Nshabohurira, the UCREPP project Communications Officer, all the three projects are slated to be completed within a period of one year.

Works at the UGX 4.1 billion isolation unit and two theatres worth approximately UGX 1.8 billion were launched on 8^th April.

According to the contractors, the hard rocks at the construction site slowed down work progress, but works are currently going on smoothly and the deadline will be met.