Mayuge.
Angry residents of Mpungwe Sub-County in Mayuge district are demanding an explanation from the government over its failure to provide a local health centre with basic medical services, area local council officials have said.
For the last seven years, the Wamulongo Health Centre II has been non-functional, with those in need of medical attention being forced to either trek long distances in search of treatment or suffer silently.
When Daily Monitor visited the centre last week, it found the facility degenerated into a grazing ground for cows and goats as well as a breeding haven for wasps, termites and mosquitoes.
During the visit, Daily Monitor also found that the abandoned health facility only served its purpose for about a week before running out of drugs and later collapsing.
“When the district took over the health centre, it provided two personnel who worked for about a week before they were recalled because there were no drugs. And that was it since then,” the LC1 chairperson, Wamulongo village, Mr Nathan Igulu, said in an interview.
He continued: “The Shs120million health centre II was a brainchild of the then Bunya East Member of Parliament, Mr James Kubeketerya. The money used was drawn from the constituency development fund by Mayuge district administration.”
Sharing his experience, Mr Abdu Dholaga, another resident of the area, said lack of a functional health centre has denied him and his family access to professional health services, saying government needs to come clean on matter as the entire village is feeling deserted, cheated and angry.
“Those who fall ill travel long distances to get the attention they would have gotten here. We think we deserve better and we want this matter taken seriously,” Mr Dholaga told Daily monitor.
However, the LC3 chairperson of Mpungwe Sub-county, Mr Suleiman Kato, said government should not be blamed for the state of the health centre because Mayuge District authorities failed to register the health centre with the National Medical Stores, a government agency responsible for supplying and replenishing drugs in government health facilities.
Health centre
A health centre II is an outpatient service run by a nurse. It is intended to serve about 5,000 people. Next in level is Health Centre III, which serves 10,000 people and provides in addition to HC II services, in patient, simple diagnostic, and maternal health services. It is managed by a clinical officer.
Next, is health centre IV, run by a medical doctor and provides surgical services in addition to all the services provided at HC III. HC IV also provides blood transfusion services and comprehensive emergency obstetric care.
WHO Africa region
0 comments:
Post a Comment