Arua Regional Referral Hospital has been cleared by the central government to recruit additional staff as part of its new recruitment plan.
Dr. Aniku Gilbert, the Acting Senior Executive Consultant at Arua Regional Referral Hospital, disclosed that an additional 127 health workers will be recruited following the clearance.
According to the administration’s recruitment plan, priority will be given to filling critical staffing gaps, including the recruitment of intensivists, anaesthesiologists, emergency physicians, paediatricians, general surgeons, ENT surgeons and general physicians.
The administration also reveals that an additional 15 midwives and nurses will be recruited under the plan to address understaffing and improve service delivery in the maternity ward, which is a critical section of the facility.
One of the most affected departments at the hospital is the maternity ward, which is also among the busiest wards, with more than 7,000 deliveries conducted last financial year despite the staffing challenges.
The hospital currently has only nine specialists out of the recommended 50 to undertake surgeries and provide other critical services at the facility, which receives patients from across the West Nile region and parts of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
By the end of last year, the hospital only had a total of 14 medical and clinical officers and 25 midwives working at the facility.
A report by the State House Health Monitoring Unit recently noted that staffing challenges were affecting service delivery at the hospital. The hospital was flagged as a high-volume facility because it attends to thousands of patients daily.
Assistant Director at State House Health Monitoring Unit, Dr. Ataro Ayella Stephen, acknowledges the current staffing gap at Arua Regional Referral Hospital, which he attributes to a major factor contributing to absenteeism and frequent sick leave among available staff.
Ataro said that the facility is still operating at below 30 percent of its required staffing level, which needs to be improved to enable the hospital to perform its mandate as a regional referral hospital.
However, Ayivu West Division Member of Parliament, Onzima Phiona, says that the staffing gaps and other challenges facing the hospital could be addressed through collaboration among all stakeholders.
Onzima said that under the West Nile Parliamentary Caucus, an umbrella body for Members of Parliament from the West Nile region, they will continue urging government and partners to support the hospital in its operations and help to overcome challenges-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
