By KT Reporter
The Ministry of Health has said it is financially incapacitated to undertake the construction of a 33 billion Shillings maternal and child health complex at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital.
According to the ministry, the government could be compelled to acquire a special loan to undertake the construction works since, currently, they are financially constrained, and this could be a gradual process.
Construction of the facility commenced in August 2023, with the contract awarded to the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC), the business arm of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF).
According to the hospital management, once completed, the facility would house the Neonatal Unit, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology wards, an operating theatre, and a laboratory. However, two years down the road, construction has not started.
However, to date, the site remains abandoned, while the hospital continues to struggle with severe congestion.
Before the launch of the project, the government had released 1.15 billion Shillings to kick-start the works. Currently, there are no signs of construction materials such as sand or bricks at the site.
The funds that had been availed were meant to begin the foundation of a 120-bed capacity complex. However, the plan was later revised to accommodate a 250-bed facility due to rising demand for health services in the region.
This change required a new design and plan, but no additional funds have been released since then.
However, after the design was changed, the contractor revealed that the 1.15 billion initially released could not even complete the foundation, and the contractor is currently stuck with the money in their account.
Dr.Jane Ruth Aceng, the minister of health, says, construction of the facility could take a long time since the health ministry is financially incapacitated to immediately undertake the construction works.
Dr.Aceng has faulted the hospital management for demolishing all structures housing the maternity, gynaecology, and paediatric wards without an alternative to accommodate patients, adding that what could have been done was to identify another site but leave the structure to accommodate patients.
She says the situation has left most patients being accommodated out in the cold at the hospital.
Following the launch of the project in August 2023, the contractor was allowed to demolish all structures housing the maternity, gynaecology, and paediatric wards to make space for the new four-story facility, and since then, the hospital has been grappling with severe congestion.
Dr.Ibrahim Bwaga, the Acting Director of the hospital, explains that there is a need for immediate government intervention to have the new maternity complex constructed to solve the issue of congestion.
With the maternity section demolished, the children’s ward was relocated to the former antenatal building, and antenatal services were moved to the immunization room. This forced the hospital to conduct immunization services on the veranda.
The gynaecology department now shares space with the eye care unit, the neonatal ward was pushed to the maternity waiting room, and the maternity waiting room was shifted to the outpatient department (OPD).
Hoima Regional Referral Hospital serves a population of 3.5 million people from nine districts, including Hoima, Buliisa, Kiryandongo, Kakumiro, Kagadi, Kibaale, Masindi, Kikuube, and Hoima City.
The hospital receives between 800 to 1,000 patients daily, including refugees from Kyangwali and Kiryandongo settlement areas and patients from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This places an immense burden on its already inadequate resources, including medicines, ward space, and blood supplies.
British American Tobacco established the Hoima Regional Referral Hospital in 1910 as a dispensary. In 1935, it was elevated to a district hospital, and in 2004, it was upgraded to a regional referral hospital-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
