Locals accuse health workers of extortion

Residents in Butebo District have accused health workers of extorting money from patients for medical services.

The locals said the most affected are the pregnant women.

Ms Mary Mwagale, one of the concerned residents, said the health workers ask for between Shs300,000 and Shs400,000 for an operation.

“I went to Butebo Health Centre IV to give birth but was told that I had to be operated and needed Shs300,000 for that exercise. We had to look for the money,” she said during a public dialogue, locally known as Baraza, in Kakoro Town Council, Butebo District at the weekend.

Ms Baluka Nambiro, another resident, said: “I went to the Kakoro Health Centre III to give birth but was not attended to abandoned in the facility without a health worker until the following day. I had to part with some money before I could be attended to,” she said.

Ms Nambiro said the health facilities also face drug stock outs, lack of beds and few doctors in most of the government-aided facilities.

“Every time we seek treatment in these health facilities it is a nightmare. These health workers don’t get ashamed even to charge us especially when our women have gone to the facility to deliver. Sometimes they direct us to their private clinics for essential drugs and yet they are telling us the government is not sending drugs timely,” she said.

When contacted on Sunday for a comment, Dr Amos Njiri, the officer-in-charge of Butebo Health Centre IV, described the allegations as baseless, saying they are aimed to tarnish the image of the facility and healthworkers.

He added that whoever has evidence of the extortions should report to his office and he will take action immediately.

Meanwhile, the officer-in-charge of Kakoro Health Centre III, Mr Dauda Kiwuluka, also said the allegations were “unfounded and intended to malign the integrity of health workers”.

"It's not true that health workers at the facility extort money from patients. This is a matter that demands for investigation,” Mr Kiwuluka said.

However, during the Baraza, the district health officer, Dr Lawrence Onyu, said the district and health management Committee have on several occasions warned health workers against such behaviour.

“This will not be accepted at all for such isolated cases to continue spoiling the image of the health sector and yet well knowing that it’s against government policy which clearly abolished cost sharing in government facilities,” he said.

Mr Onyu said the implicated health workers will be investigated, adding that whoever is found guilty will face disciplinary action. 

The State minister for General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ms Justine Kasule Lumumba, called on the district and sub-county leadership to monitor service delivery. 

“I am delighted to re-launch the barazas and give renewed impetus to this most effective and direct method of monitoring service delivery to wanaichi through the Baraza system. As already know, this term of office is commitment and focus on providing timely and quality services to the people of Uganda,” Ms Lumumba, who represented Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja at the event, said.

The Baraza is a presidential initiative launched in January 2009 to promote citizen participation in the development process. It provides a platform for the public to monitor public service providers, demand accountability, and enhance transparency.

The programme aims to engage the general public in discussions that reinforce the decentralization policy and its implementation.

She explained that Barazas hold the government accountable for the resources allocated to public programmes in local communities.

Regarding education, Mr Lumumba pointed out that the shortage of teachers and inadequate infrastructure are key factors contributing to poor performance in the district.