Service resumes at Paiula Health Centre II after three months
An entry to Paiula Health Centre II in Pader District. PHOTO/SUSAN ACHOLA
What you need to know:
- Mr Aldo Moro, a resident of Mila village, Paiula Parish, Paiula Sub-county, said it has been difficult for them to access medical services even when supplies of drugs were made to the facility a month ago.
Health services have resumed at Paiula Health Centre II in Paiula sub-county, Pader District, following a three-month suspension. The facility had halted operations after its sole health worker left to pursue further studies.
The facility at Mila Village was closed down from early March until last week, with patients being turned away since there was no health worker to run it. The officer in charge, Ms Christine Akello, who was assigned to the facility four years ago by the District Health Department, took a study leave in early February.
The Monitor established that services could only resume after Citizen Voices and Action (CVA) , a local non-governmental organisation operating in the district, deployed a health worker at the facility to offer temporary services while the district looks to add more staff.
At the weekend, Dr Benson Oyoo, the District Health Officer, confirmed that deployment of another health officer at the facility had been done, prompting the resumption of health service provision at the facility.
According to Dr Oyoo, Ms Hellen Ayege, an enrolled nurse, was deployed to the facility last week as the acting In charge of the health centre.
According to Mr Alex Ocaya, a Health Educator at CVA, the dire situation in the area came to light following the demise of two children.
“We visited the health facility and we found it locked two weeks ago, the only staff we found were a health assistant, a porter, and a security guard who are not authorised to examine or issue treatment and prescriptions to patients,” Mr Ocaya said.
Mr Aldo Moro, a resident of Mila village, Paiula Parish, Paiula Sub-county, said it has been difficult for them to access medical services even when supplies of drugs were made to the facility a month ago.
According to Mr Moro, Paiula Health Centre II has been operating with only one enrolled nurse (the one in charge), who conducts examinations and dispenses drugs to patients, such that services become paralysed in her absence.
In an interview, Mr Justine Ocen, the Pader district secretary for health and the district vice chairperson, blamed this on under staffing, which he says is affecting almost all the health facilities in the district.
“We have indeed had a challenge at Paiula Health Centre, but all this is because of under staffing in health facilities across Pader District; the staffing of the health department of the district is only at 28 percent.” Mr Ocen said.
State of health centres in Pader
Mr Ocen expressed optimism that the problem will be solved once the district recruits more staff in the coming financial year 2025-2026. Pader District has 34 health centres with 13 at the level of health centre III, two health centres IV, and 19 health centres II, taking the lion's share with 55 percent, without a hospital.
While the rural population takes pride in visiting these health centres II, or perhaps it is their nearest available option, Mr Emmanuel Ainebiona, the public relations officer, Ministry of Health, says they are in the process of phasing them out, so their administration lies under the Local governments.
