Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital has expanded its accident and emergency unit from two beds to 15 and increased its intensive care unit (ICU) capacity from one bed to four as part of efforts to improve healthcare delivery in the Tooro-Rwenzori sub-region.
The hospital has also installed piped oxygen across its wards, established high-dependency units in admitting wards and secured funding to recruit an additional 146 health workers in the 2026/2027 financial year. Dr Archibald Bahizi Newton Sabahire, the hospital’s Senior Executive Consultant, said the improvements had strengthened the facility’s capacity to manage emergencies and stabilise critically injured patients before transferring them to other wards.
He said expanding the accident and emergency unit had improved the hospital’s ability to handle emergencies and provide timely care, reducing the risk of deaths among critically injured patients. The hospital has also increased its intensive care capacity and established high-dependency units to improve the management of critically ill patients who require closer monitoring.
Bahizi said the installation of piped oxygen across the wards had eliminated the need to keep oxygen cylinders beside patients’ beds, improving safety and making oxygen more accessible. The hospital’s oxygen plant also supplies oxygen to health facilities across the Tooro sub-region, including government and private facilities.
On staffing, Bahizi said the hospital’s human resource coverage had increased from 23 per cent to 28 per cent in the previous financial year. The facility has also secured funding to recruit 146 additional health workers in the current financial year.
Despite the progress, Bahizi said inadequate infrastructure and staffing remained major challenges as the hospital sought to expand its services. He appealed to the government and other stakeholders to increase investment in infrastructure and human resources to enable the hospital to develop into a specialised referral and surgical centre for the region.
Bahizi said additional infrastructure would help strengthen specialist services and improve access to advanced medical treatment. The developments were highlighted on Tuesday during a government service delivery monitoring visit led by Meseach Kawamara, the Senior Presidential Adviser on Mobilisation.
Kawamara commended the hospital’s management and health workers for their dedication, saying service delivery had improved and more services had been brought closer to the population. He urged residents to familiarise themselves with the services offered at the regional referral hospital so they could seek appropriate medical attention when necessary.
Asumin Nasike, the Fort Portal Resident City Commissioner, also commended the government for funding improvements at the facility, saying they would enhance healthcare services for residents. She singled out the piped oxygen system, saying it had eliminated the need to keep large oxygen cylinders in wards, freeing up space and reducing congestion for patients and health workers.
Meanwhile, Jorum Bintamanya, the Fort Portal Central Division Mayor, called on hospital management to prioritise the welfare of health workers by improving their motivation and facilitation to enable them to deliver quality services. Bintamanya also raised concerns about the hospital’s limited land, urging authorities to recover land allegedly encroached upon to create room for expansion.
He warned that constructing additional facilities within the existing space without securing more land could worsen congestion at the hospital. Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital serves patients from Kabarole, Kamwenge, Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa, Kasese, Ntoroko, Kitagwenda and Bunyangabu districts, as well as Fort Portal City and parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
