Anaka General Hospital in Nwoya District is struggling to accommodate its essential health workers owing to an acute shortage of housing units.
Dr. Joseph Arike, the Anaka General Hospital Medical Superintendent disclosed on Monday that the housing units at the facility are currently dilapidated and cannot accommodate the workforce in place.
Dr. Arike says despite a recent recruitment exercise conducted to bridge the staff shortage, majority of those recruited couldn’t reside within the hospital adding that they are renting within the community.
According to him, the situation has not only demoralized the staff but also proved risky for some who have to leave their homes late in the night to handle emergencies like in the maternity ward.
Dr. Arike who was speaking at the handover of the newly refurbished 12-roomed housing unit at the facility called on various stakeholders and the government to consider supporting the Hospital with more staff housing.
The 12-unit staff house was rehabilitated by Total Energies Uganda as part of its social corporate responsibility. The roof of the housing unit was blown off in 2019 during a heavy storm.
The Hospital Administrator, Innocent Oneka says out of the 154 staff that comprise the medical, technical, and support staff, only 120 are being accommodated at the hospital. He however says those being accommodated are occupying dilapidated structures while others are sharing units.
Oneka also notes that they are grappling with the security of their staff quarters where the majority of the staff have had their houses ransacked by thugs while on duty arguing that such incidences have left them equally demoralized.
Stella Grace Awor, a nursing officer in charge of the theater says she was appointed in July this year but didn’t get accommodation at the staff quarter.
Awor says since she rents outside the facility many times she has been commuting at night to respond to emergencies but notes that on two occasions she fell victim to attacks by unknown thugs.
Annet Anita Amito, another health worker at the Antenatal department equally says lack of accommodation at the facility has affected her effective service delivery.
Amito says she rents far from the hospital and notes that she has to spend money on transport to and from the hospital everyday which has affected her little savings.
Nwoya Resident District Commissioner Christopher Omara lauded Total Energies for the good gesture extended towards the rehabilitation of the12 housing units at Anaka Hospital but tasked the management to ensure transparency in allocating the houses to staff.
Joy Muballe, the Social Performance Director at Total Energies says the rehabilitation works which cost millions of shillings are part of Total Energy’s commitment to supporting the important work of healthcare workers.
At the same event, Total Energies handed over a cheque worth 22.4 million shillings (6,000 US Dollars) to the Young Elephant Football Club in Nwoya which emerged as the champions of this year’s Nwoya Mini League.