Don’t ask for ambulance fuel from patients- Museveni
President Yoweri Museveni has warned health workers against soliciting fuel for ambulances from patients and directed that districts and health facilities must include regular budgets for fuel and maintenance of vehicles to ensure dedicated service.
“Districts must allot fuel for the ambulance and Health Centres must also budget for fuel. It is not right to ask patients for fuel because it defeats the purpose of my intentions,” he said.
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Museveni’s directive was carried by State House Comptroller Ms Lucy Nakyobe who was delivering an ambulance to Semuto Health Centre IV in Nakaseko District.
“I want to commend the health workers here for your dedication and urge you to continue working hard. I want to apologize for the delay in fulfilling this pledge. There are many pledges and other priorities from around the country and yet my budget allocation is still the same. However, we shall be fulfilling them as and when we get the funding,” he said.
He called on the community to always be vigilant in monitoring their health and not wait until the situation gets serious. He urged the health workers to always sensitize the people and encourage them to exploit government’s immunization programmes to eliminate disease.
“For Uganda to have a healthy and productive population as well as reduction on the health budget, more emphasis needs to put on disease prevention. Many people suffer and die from preventable diseases. Pregnant mothers should do regular tests and should not wait until it is too late to visit a health facility. The vehicle is only for transport but will not necessary ensure your health. It is for the extreme cases that need urgent attention,” he said.
Dr. Bernard Richard Kakeeto hailed President Museveni for fulfilling his pledge to the people of Semuto and said the ambulance will go along way in easing service delivery.
“Semuto Health Centre IV is a mini hospital because it handles cases from as far as Wakiso, Matugga and Mityana. We handle about 125 patients daily as outpatients and up to 4000 every month,” he said.
