Soroti hospital needs over 900 workers
A parliamentary health committee has discovered that Soroti Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda is severely understaffed, with fewer than 300 employees serving a population of over 2.4 million. Lawmakers are calling for urgent infrastructure improvements and better resource management to address the critical service delivery gap.
Why it matters
The report highlights systemic failures in public healthcare infrastructure in developing regions, impacting the quality of life and mortality rates for millions.
Lawmakers on the parliamentary health committee, currently criss-crossing the country on spot checks of government hospitals, were shocked to learn that fewer than 300 staff at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital are serving the entire Teso Sub-region.
Teso, according to the 2021 census report, has a population of 2,462,387 people, while Soroti City has 220,698 people during the day. The MPs were told Soroti hospital is operating with only 283 staff out of the required 1,231, leaving a gap 948 gap.
The committee chairperson, Dr Julius Mande Rude, who is also the Bukonzo County East MP, said they were in Teso to check on service delivery gaps and follow up on issues earlier highlighted by President Museveni, including drug stock-outs, absenteeism and the rising cases of non-communicable diseases.
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