Government to recruit 700 staff for Kiruddu, Kawempe hospitals

Services. A medical personel attends to patients admitted to Kirudu Hospital last month. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA

What you need to know:

Cleared. According to the Health Service Commission, each hospital is expected to have a total of about 500 staff but the Ministry of Finance only gave clearance to 700 positions.

Kampala. Government is to recruit a total of 700 health workers for Kawempe and Kiruddu hospitals which recently acquired semi-autonomous status under the Ministry of Health.
Both hospitals, formerly health centre IVs under Kampala Capital City Authority, have an in-patient admission capacity of 177 each.
According to Prof Pius Okong, the chairman of the Health Service Commission, each hospital is expected to have a total of about 500 staff but the Ministry of Finance only gave clearance to 700 positions.

“We advertised 700 positions through KCCA and people applied but we are yet to have a Commission meeting to approve the shortlist,” Prof Okong said in an interview yesterday.
He, however, declined to state the number of candidates who have shown interest.
Mr Okong explained that after the applications are submitted, as chairman of the Commission, he will distribute the applicants to different boards which verify whether the applicants meet the criteria stated in the advert.

“The boards are supposed to prepare a report which is submitted to the Commission before it approves the shortlist,” he said, adding that they are expected to approve the shortlist this week.
“Once the shortlists are approved, they will be made available and candidates will be invited for interviews,” he added.
Similarly, Prof Okong said Ministry of Health and Mulago hospital are in the process of operationalising the Mulago National Specialised Hospital at Lower Mulago and the Mulago Specialised Maternal and Neonatal hospital. “The Ministry of Health and Mulago have to put in place new structures and staffing norms in order to operationalise these new hospitals,” Prof Okong added.

However, he said in the interim, services at Kiruddu and Kawempe hospitals will continue being offered by the current Mulago hospital staff pending the completion of the renovation works at Lower Mulago. In a recent interview, the Health ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Diana Atwine, indicated that the five hospitals are aimed at decongesting the current Mulago Hospital Complex, to allow promotions for the current workforce plus making specialised services available.
“We are going to set up the interim leadership committees after the various steering committees conclude their work in two weeks’ time,” Dr Atwine said.

According to presentations made by the various committees in May, each hospital is expected to have a board of directors and governing executives headed by a chief executive officer.
The new Mulago Supper Specialised hospital at the Lower Mulago intends to hire more than 1,707 staff and will have two deputy CEOs, with one in-charge of clinical services and another in-charge of finance and administration.

The facility will have eight directors for different directorates that will be extending specialised services. The Mulago Maternal and Neonatal specialised hospital intendeds to recruit 788, Kiruddu 500 and Kawempe about 530. They will be headed by boards appointed by the Health minister.
“We want to create opportunity for the workforce to allow promotions because the current structure is constricted and does not allow promotions,” Dr Atwine said, adding that she wants the preparatory process to be participatory.