Dr Byarugaba noted that both hospitals whose current expenditure is under Ministry of Health and Mulago National Referral Hospital will become independent starting next financial year 2019/2020 and will have separate votes in the budget.
The Executive Director of Mulago National Referral Hospital Dr
Baterana Byarugaba has revealed that all health workers will cease serving at
Kawempe and Kiruddu hospitals effective next month.
Byarugaba was on Monday appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee
–PAC Central Government chaired by Budadiri West MP, Nathan Nandala Mafabi to
answer to audit queries raised by the Auditor General in the financial years
2016/2017 and 2017/2018.
Nandala together with his Vice Chairperson Okin P.P Ojara representing Chwa
West tasked Byarugaba to explain the status of Kawempe and Kiruddu Hospitals
and who their accounting officer is.
Dr Byarugaba noted that both hospitals whose current expenditure
is under Ministry of Health and Mulago National Referral Hospital will become independent
starting next financial year 2019/2020 and will have separate votes in the budget.
With expenditures coming from two government entities for both hospitals,
Nandala tasked Byarugaba to name the person who could be responsible to account
for funds expended on the health facilities.
Byarugaba said that accountability is dual with Mulago being responsible with
accountability for only money paid in salaries to 143 health workers it sent to
Kiruddu under the Department of Medicine and Burns and the 108 health workers
at Kawempe hospital under the Department of Obstetrics and gynaecology.
He said that following the shifting of these departments and patients to the
hospitals in 2016, they realized that there were no enough health workers at
the facilities hence a decision to transport its health workers to the
hospitals.
He revealed that the withdrawal of these heath workers has started
with all the nurses sent to Kiruddu following recruitment for the hospital by
the Health Service Commission.
Byarugaba however said that all physicians still remain in Kiruddu
while withdraw of midwives from Kawempe hospital will start in a phased manner
and that the process of withdrawing all their health workers will end by 1st
July.
//Cue in: “in Kawempe because...
Cue out:...will come back.”//
Asked by Tororo South MP Fredrick Angura whether there was going to be a
duplication of services in Mulago, Kiruddu and Kawempe after withdrawing staff,
Byarugaba said that there will be some degree of duplication but that the level
of specialization will defer.
