Masindi health center in-charges accused of aiding absenteeism
‘’Recently, a pregnant mother was chased from the facility and advised to seek services from other health centers since the midwife wasn’t around,’’ he stressed.
By Innocent Atuganyira
Masindi: The in-charges of health centers in Masindi district are being accused of aiding absenteeism among their fellow staff.
This was raised on Wednesday during the review meeting on the poor performance of the district health department held at the District Health Officer’s (DHO’s) Resource Center.
Patrick Baguma, the Assistant DHO In-Charge of Environmental Health, said in most cases, when they go for supervision, they find out when the health center in-charges have signed on behalf of the workers who are absent.
As a result, Baguma said that he confiscated one of the health center’s arrival books, stressing that the in-charges use an abbreviation of the absentee’s name instead of the signature, thus promoting corruption in government health centers.
Dr. Vincent Katusiime, the acting medical superintendent at Masindi district general hospital, acknowledged that there are cases of absenteeism among the health workers, attributing it to a lack of attitude towards the work.
He decried that it’s affecting service delivery and needs urgent attention. Katusiime said that some health workers at Masindi district general hospital have been sent to the disciplinary committee and some to the service commission for warning.
Lawrence Baleke, the in-charge of Kyatiri Health Centre III, said that the workers have a tendency to report late for work and leave early, so patients seek health services from private health centers.
He also suggested the district health team engage the midwives since some go for upgrades, thus affecting service delivery. ‘’Recently, a pregnant mother was chased from the facility and advised to seek services from other health centers since the midwife wasn’t around,’’ he stressed.
Brian Mugisha, the Assistant DHO In-Charge of Child and Maternal Health, said due to the late reporting on duty, some children have ended up missing immunization services.
He stressed that in most cases, mothers come for immunization early in the morning, at around 8 a.m., and health workers report late for work at around 11 a.m., so mothers leave before the children are immunized.
Cosmas Byaruhanga, the Masindi District LCV Chairperson, said health centers are supposed to work 24/7, so he vowed to deal with health workers reporting late for work or absenting themselves, saying they would face the law. ‘’Health centers are supposed to work 24/7; I will not tolerate health workers who are either reporting late for work or leaving early because they are paid; if not, they will face the law,’’ he added.
Byaruhanga said that the health center in-charges who are aiding absenteeism will be replaced, and those who don’t want to work will be forced to retire. ‘’Since there are no appointment letters for being in charge, those who are aiding absenteeism will be replaced, and if they don’t work, we shall force them to resign,’’ he further added.
Dr. Jino Abiriga, the acting DHO Masindi, decried that most health center in-charges hide information from his office, yet they are supposed to work together.
He said this affects service delivery in the district.
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