Published on 17/06/2024
Legislators on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have urged a resolution on the status of China-Uganda Friendship Hospital Naguru (CUFH-N) also known as Naguru General Hospital. They emphasized that the ongoing confusion is severely hampering service delivery. Swift action is needed to restore efficiency and patient care at the hospital.
Gorreth Namugga, Vice Chairperson of PAC, warned that the uncertainty surrounding Naguru’s status has rendered the medical staff underutilized due to a lack of appropriate equipment. “They receive a budget equivalent to a general hospital, yet they have the staffing levels of a referral hospital. This means the staff are underutilized, and valuable resources are wasted. Doctors won’t stay where they can’t effectively use their skills,” Namugga noted.
Ibanda County MP Xavier Kyooma, highlighted policy lapses and suggested that the Ministry of Health address the issue, questioning whether requests for necessary equipment and resources had been made.
Dr. Emmanuel Tugaineyo, Executive Director of Naguru Hospital, refuted claims that the medical team is redundant, stating, “My staff are actually overworked. We need more people and better equipment. Despite securing Shs5Bn for arrears, our wage bill is about Shs10Bn, and the budget for operational expenses is less than Shs2Bn.”
Dr. Tugaineyo stressed the need for a legal instrument to define the hospital’s status officially, which would help address funding, staffing, and equipment shortages. He pointed out that the hospital, designated as a national referral trauma centre, has been operating without a CT scan for three years, forcing patients to seek this service elsewhere.
Namugga expressed concern over the hospital’s lack of a CT scan, which complicates and delays patient care. “For three years, Naguru Hospital has had no CT scan. Patients needing this service have to go elsewhere, which is inconvenient and costly. Is there a plan to include a CT scan in the current or next year’s budget?” she asked.
Dr. Tugaineyo explained that the absence of a CT scan contributed to a significant revenue shortfall, as it is a critical diagnostic tool. “The CT scan, which is a major revenue generator, has been non-functional, resulting in a Shillings 127 million revenue shortfall. The current machine is obsolete and beyond repair,” he explained.
During the meeting, it was revealed that Naguru Hospital, with a 100-bed capacity, handles 800-900 deliveries per month. Despite having departments equivalent to a referral hospital, the facility’s capacity is insufficient. The hospital has 22 neonatal beds, but only eight are functional due to budget constraints.
Ken Kalungi, an engineer at Naguru Hospital, detailed the maintenance challenges, noting, “We have 22 neonatal beds, but only eight are fully functional. We lack a dedicated medical equipment maintenance budget, relying instead on a small recurrent budget of Shillings 7-10 million per quarter. Ideally, referral hospitals have separate budgets for medical equipment maintenance.”
Dr. Tugaineyo called for government intervention to clear the confusion surrounding the hospital’s status and improve its operational capacity. He highlighted that the central medical equipment workshop in Wabigalo, under the Ministry of Health, has a limited budget for Naguru Hospital, with only Shs28M allocated for the next year.
The PAC emphasized the urgency of resolving these issues to ensure that Naguru Hospital can function effectively and fulfil its role as a national referral trauma centre.
Naguru General Hospital was built between 2009 and 2012 by the Chinese government as a gift to Uganda, at an estimated cost of approximately US$8 million (UGX 20 billion). The hospital aims to decongest Mulago National Referral Hospital and serve the estimated 3 million inhabitants of Wakiso, Mukono and Entebbe in the Kampala Metropolitan Area.
