Police and officials from the Allied Health Professionals peep through the door after one of the practitioners locked herself inside the house in Ochaapa Town Council.
The operations against unlicensed health facilities and quack medical practitioners in the Teso sub-region have hit a snag. The operations spearheaded by the Allied Health
Professional’s Council of Uganda are currently being conducted in different
districts across the Teso sub-region.
In most of the facilities visited, the practitioners either
run away or lock themselves inside the houses they operate in until the
officers leave.
In Ochaapa Town Council, a lady locked herself inside the
house when she was found treating patients in a condemned building. The lady
whose details were not easily accessible operates an illegal drug shop.
The operation targets the qualifications of health workers,
their registration status, and licenses of operations among others.
Apollo
Willis Opoya, the Allied Health Professionals Council’s Supervisor for the Teso
and Karamoja sub-regions says that there’s a lot of illegal practice in the
Teso sub-region, something worrying the health sector.
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Michael Kayizzi Mubiru, the Quality Assurance Manager with
the Allied Health Professionals Council- Uganda- says that as a result of
illegal health practices, the country is registering increasing cases of
delayed referrals of patients for proper medical management leading to death.
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At least six people have been arrested from Serere and Ngora
districts since Tuesday.
Those arrested have been charged with different offenses including practicing medicine without a license, operating unlicensed
medical facilities, and employing unregistered staff, among other offenses.
According to the Allied Health Professionals in the Teso sub-region, more than 75 percent of the private health facilities are operating
illegally. Some of the facilities reportedly have personnel who have never gone
to any health training institute for medical courses.
Ezra Omongole, the LCIII Chairperson of Ochaapa Town Council
says that they are also concerned with the high numbers of illegal health
practitioners in the district.
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The report from Soroti Regional Referral Hospital indicates
that several patients have developed drug resistance, especially urinary tract infections (UTI) and malaria due to poor management of diseases
at private health facilities.
Edward Eninu
Freelancer