Mityana hospital authorities accused of mismanagement

Mityana. Councillors in Mityana District have accused Mityana General Hospital administrators of concealing information about lack of essential equipment at the facility.

The councillors say the hospital has been operating without an X-ray machine for more than six months and patients are currently referred to Mubende Hospital located about 100 kilometres away, for X-ray services.
“The hospital administration has not officially brought it to our attention that the X-ray machine is not functioning. We got the information from patients,” Ms Helen Namugosa, a district councillor representing Kalangalo Sub-county, said at the weekend.

Last July, a number of computers, microscopes and a CD4 machine reportedly went missing from the hospital.
Ms Namugosa, who also chairs the committee on education and health, said they are not yet convinced that the medical equipment was stolen from the hospital without knowledge of the staff since the hospital management reportedly failed to show proof that the facility was broken into by intruders.

Mr Joseph Luzige, the Mityana District Council chairperson, said the hospital administration has chosen to work in isolation, something that has affected service delivery at the facility.
“For reason only known to them, the hospital administrators have chosen to work in isolation. They have failed to give us regular reports about inoperative medical equipment yet we have a budget of Shs130m every year specifically for the hospital,” he said.

He added the district council recently passed a resolution compelling the hospital administration to charge only Shs25,000 from patients admitted to the private ward, but they continue to get reports that some unscrupulous medical staff still charge between Shs50,000 and Shs100,000, which is exorbitant.
Mr Paul Kabenge, the Mityana General Hospital senior administrator, admitted that the X-ray machine is not functioning, but said plans are under way to repair it.

“We are yet to fix that problem and I want to assure our people that the X-ray machine will soon be functional,” Mr Kabenge said.
He refuted reports that staff at the hospital engage in extortion.
“Some politicians have on several occasions made such wild allegations, but they are unfounded. No one has come out with evidence against any staff here,” he added.

The hospital

The hospital receives between 300 and 450 patients daily, including from other districts such as Kassanda, Kiboga, Gomba and some parts of Wakiso and Mubende.

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