Health workers at Atutur Hospital in Kumi District are being forced to share dilapidated staff quarters due to a shortage of accommodation, compromising their privacy and exposing them to unsafe living conditions.
Some of the staff houses were constructed in 1969 and have deteriorated over the years, with leaking roofs, damaged verandas, broken sewerage systems and other structural problems.
With few alternatives in the rural area, nurses and other health workers have resorted to sharing housing units originally designed for single families, with some having to share accommodation with colleagues of the opposite sex.
Suzan Akello, a nurse at the hospital, said she has repeatedly attempted to repair her leaking room, but the problem persists because of the age of the iron sheets.
“My room leaks, and I have tried to do repairs, but it just worsened because the iron sheets are very old. When it rains, it washes away the glue that was placed on the iron sheets, and the leaking continues. When the rain finds me at home, I have to mop the water out, but if I am not around, I come back to damage,” Akello said.
She said staff members are sometimes forced to share a single housing unit, with one person occupying the sitting room and another the bedroom.
“We have no choice but to share the same rooms. One nurse sleeps in the sitting room, and the other in the bedroom. For the person staying in the bedroom to access their room, they have to pass through the other’s room,” she said.
Akello said the arrangement has severely compromised privacy, particularly for married staff and those living with children. The deteriorating structures have also created safety concerns. Akello showed the remains of a snake that staff had recently killed, saying snakes frequently enter the quarters through holes in the damaged verandas.
“We kill snakes here weekly. They find their way through because the veranda has deep holes that accommodate them. If the veranda were repaired, the snakes would have no way through,” she said.
Another nurse, identified as Acam, said she shares a housing unit with a male colleague despite having a family of her own. “We share the same door to access our rooms, and it’s hard for us who are married. When my husband visits, I have to take the children to another colleague’s room. There is no privacy here at all, but we endure because we have no choice,” Acam said.
She said the demands of night duty make it difficult for health workers to simply move away from the hospital because they are expected to remain close enough to respond to emergencies. Acam said health workers have also been using their own money to carry out minor repairs to the quarters and sewerage system, only for the problems to recur.
“To repair the broken sewage and leaking roof, we have to dig into our pockets to ensure that those services are at least done. However, due to limited resources, the same defects resurface,” she said.
Kumi District Health Officer Dr Emmanuel Ongala said the hospital is still operating in structures dating back to its establishment in 1969.
“The roofs are leaking, and even when we try to put some silicone, it still leaks because the silicone gets washed out due to larger holes. The whole hospital needs to be renovated,” Ongala said.
He said the hospital’s Primary Health Care funds from the Ministry of Health are insufficient to undertake major renovations.
The available funds, he said, are mainly used for minor repairs such as fixing broken windows and glass and repairing the sewerage system.
“As we speak, there is no money earmarked for renovations at Atutur Hospital, but we are banking our hopes on proposals that have been written, which, if they mature, could help us renovate the facility,” Ongala said.
Ongala said the accommodation shortage has forced the hospital administration to place staff in shared units because nurses working night shifts need to remain close to the facility. He also said the hospital’s location makes it difficult for staff to find alternative accommodation outside the facility.
Beyond staff accommodation, Ongala said the hospital’s sewerage system is also overwhelmed because it was designed for a much smaller number of patients.
“The sewage system for this hospital was set up for a hundred patients in 1960. However, given the current population the facility serves, that old sewage system cannot be managed effectively, causing it to break almost weekly due to constraints,” he said.
“The sewage is overwhelming; it can only handle a certain amount of waste, and the pipes have rusted,” Ongala added.
Kumi District LC5 Chairperson Stephen Opolot said the district is aware of the challenges facing both the health workers and the hospital.
“We are in a crisis. Atutur Hospital is in dire need of renovations. We have written to the relevant ministry explaining the issues of accommodation and the dilapidated structures in the facility, but we have not yet received a response, although they have given us verbal promises,” Opolot said.
He said he regularly visits the hospital to encourage health workers as the district seeks support to improve their working and living conditions.
Opolot said Atutur Hospital is the only general hospital serving Kumi District and also receives patients from neighbouring Bukedea, Ngora, Serere, Pallisa and parts of Katakwi districts.
“If you move around, you will observe that our staff reside in highly dilapidated structures. The houses are in a sorry state, and houses meant for one person are shared,” he said.
He said the hospital’s infrastructure challenges extend beyond staff quarters to the theatre, outpatient department, wards and drug store. “We appeal to the government to consider Atutur Hospital because we truly need improved infrastructure to handle the overwhelming numbers of patients we see daily,” Opolot said.
Opolot also called for increased funding for the district health sector, saying better remuneration would help improve the situation.
“The health sector in Kumi is underfunded. If wages were enhanced, it would greatly support Atutur Hospital and the entire health sector in the district. We need about 1.5 billion shillings to stabilize the health department,” he said-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
