Jinja Security Committee Shocked by Absentee Health Workers of Kisima Health Center III

Residents from the Jinja city’s three Islands of Rwabitooke, Kisima I and Kisima II have raised concern about what they termed as frequent cases of absenteeism by medical workers at Kisima II health center III. These complaints were raised during an impromptu visit by members of the Jinja city’s security committee, who were assessing service delivery in the area.

The city security committee members led by the Jinja resident city commissioner, Salim Kumaketch arrived at the facility at 2:30PM, but only found the security guard, who notified them that, the health workers had left for lunch and would report back for duty in an hour’s time. The committee members were compelled to wait for the health workers till 6:30PM, but none of them had reported yet, which further raised concern on whether they had turned up for work.

Particulars of the health workers had been registered for the whole month of June yet such is meant to be recorded on a daily basis. One of the members of the health facility’s management committee noted that they had assigned 12 staff to support the smooth operations, however, only four have been sighted over time, raising suspicion on the whereabouts of the rest.

“Much as we were promised 24/7 operations, the facility is always closed at night and emergency cases are privately evacuated to the mainland for urgent redress or risk death,” he observed. On his part, Kumaketch says that, the act of absenteeism by civil servants undermines government’s efforts of decentralizing services closer to the people.

Kumaketch says that all communities deserve treatment with dignity, which is largely evidenced in timely access to quality healthcare services, but with absenteeism of staff, such efforts are constrained.

He asserts that access to quality healthcare is a nonnegotiable right for all citizens, which government fulfills largely through setting up of the necessary infrastructure and deploying staff to attend to the patients, but absenteeism hurts grassroots communities, which hope to better their health through such structures, only health facility to be closed.

Kumaketch says he will engage the relevant city authorities in the shortest time possible, in a bid to ensure that the situation is addressed and overly enable the people to recieve quality healthcare services within the islands.

Now, residents say that, their area is prone to hygiene related illnesses like Bilharzia, diarrhea, among others since it is surrounded by Lake Victoria. But the health facility is always empty without staff attending to the patients, causing them to further register severe symptoms.

Lilian Namuddu says that, her children are due for immunization, however, the health facility is always closed, which has since deterred them fromm accessing such a mandatory medical services on time.

Namuddu says that the few times when a nurse reports for duty, she departs shortly after lunchtime, living the patients disgruntled. She says that, their health center III ought to be having specialized clinic days for largely immunization and hygiene related illnesses, which according to her will reduce on the existing disease burden.

Betty Achom, an expectant mother says that, she is five months pregnant now, but has not been able to access antenatal services due to irregular attendance of health workers.

Achom says that she attended antenantal clinic once, during her second trimester at the Walukuba health center III, but could not attend again due to high transport costs. “Traveling on return trip from Kisima II to the mainland is 5,000 Shillings, but I cannot afford it and I am only hoping that the health workers assigned to our facility can swiftly report for work, within the government approved working schedules,” she says.

Steven Zirimenya says that government constructed a health center III in the area with fully fledged equipment, but the health workers are not consistent in reporting for work.

Ziremenya says that the health workers normally work between 8:00am-1:00PM and according to him, they sound unaccountable even when notified of an emergency. This he says makes the facility more of a white elephant, rather a functional unit ready to attend to the medical needs of the people, many of which are emergencies-URN.

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