Residents of Ssekanyonyi Sub-county in Mityana District have expressed frustration over what they describe as poor and unsatisfactory services at Ssekanyonyi Health Centre IV, accusing some health workers of negligence, absenteeism and mistreatment of patients.
According to residents, the main challenge at the facility is not the availability of medicines but the conduct of some medical workers, whom they accuse of reporting late for duty, failing to attend to patients on time and treating them disrespectfully.
Ssekanyonyi Health Centre IV is the largest government health facility in the sub-county and serves thousands of people from Ssekanyonyi and neighbouring areas.
However, many residents say accessing treatment has become increasingly difficult.
Some patients reported spending several hours waiting for medical attention, while others said they often return home without receiving treatment.
“We come here very early in the morning hoping to receive treatment, but some of us spend the entire day waiting. It feels like our lives do not matter,” one patient said.
Another resident blamed poor customer care among some health workers for the situation.
“The problem is not medicine. The challenge is that some health workers report to duty late, and others are rude to patients. If you complain, you fear you may not be treated,” the resident said.
The complaints prompted one patient to alert district leaders, leading to an impromptu visit by Mityana Deputy Resident District Commissioner Prossy Mwanjuzi.
Upon arriving at the health facility at about 2 p.m., Mwanjuzi found dozens of patients still waiting to receive services despite having arrived earlier in the day.
As soon as patients saw the Deputy RDC, many rushed to present their grievances, accusing health workers of negligence and poor customer care.
The visit immediately sparked activity at the facility, with health workers beginning to attend to some of the patients who had been waiting for hours.
Mwanjuzi later inspected the attendance records and physically verified the presence of staff members on duty. The exercise reportedly revealed that fewer health workers were present than expected.
Responding to the concerns, Dr John Yawe, the officer in charge of Ssekanyonyi Health Centre IV, acknowledged that the facility is struggling with a high patient load and limited staffing.
“We are handling a very high patient load with limited staff. The number of people seeking treatment has increased, and this puts pressure on the available health workers,” Dr Yawe said.
He added that staffing shortages continue to affect service delivery despite efforts by the available personnel to serve patients.
Speaking after the inspection, Mwanjuzi said negligence and absenteeism among health workers contribute to declining public confidence in government health facilities.
“When people spend hours without receiving treatment, they begin to think that government has abandoned them, yet in many cases the problem lies with the implementation of services,” she said.
She warned health workers against neglecting their duties and announced that investigations would be conducted into the absence of some staff members.
“We cannot tolerate a situation where health workers fail to report for duty while patients are suffering. Any officer found neglecting their responsibilities will be held accountable,” Mwanjuzi warned.
Although government has invested in improving healthcare services across the country, challenges such as inadequate staffing, insufficient equipment and poor work attitudes among some health workers continue to affect service delivery in many public health facilities.
Residents of Ssekanyonyi have appealed to district authorities and the Ministry of Health to intervene and ensure that patients receive timely, professional and respectful healthcare services.
