Soroti RCC detains health centre workers for missing weekend duty

Soroti, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Eight health workers from Kichinjaji HC3 have spent a night in police cells at Soroti East Police Station after they were arrested for absconding weekend duty, and reporting late on Monday.

The eight health workers including the facility’s officer in- charge, lab assistant, nurses, midwives and were all rounded up by the security teams led by the Resident City Commissioner (RCC), Peter Pex Paak and the local leaders after a tipoff from concerned residents about alleged negligence of duty by the personnel in the facility.

The operation was informed by the alleged closure of the facility over the weekend when all the staff including the security guard locked up and left for personal engagements. It’s reported that some expectant mothers in labour bounced after arriving to the facility that had only a padlock at the gate.

On Monday morning, the RCC and the team arrived at the facility around 8:30am and were shocked to find none of the staff at work. It’s reported that the first staff, the facility in- charge arrived at 9:38am while the rest of the staff appeared past 10:00am.

Paak says that they want all the staff transferred from the facility to ensure that new management takes over to ensure smooth running of the facility.

Joyce Akello, a resident of Usuk Cell in Kichinjaji Ward, one of the patients found at the facility says that most of the people now prefer distant facilities like Princess Diana or even the referral hospital for treatment because of poor service delivery at Kichinjaji HC3.

The staff will today be subjected to a public hearing at the city council hall which will decide their fate. Kichinjaji is one of the facilities with inadequate housing for staff.

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