Parliament to Probe Alarming Maternal Mortality Deaths at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital

Parliament has called for a deeper interrogation of the high maternal mortality rates reported at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital which surpasses the national figures.

This followed an appeal by the Oyam District Woman Representative, Dr. Eunice Apio Otuko during a debate of the report of Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) on the Auditor General’s Report on referral hospitals and specialized health institutions.

She made this pleas during the sitting of the House chaired by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa on Tuesday, 24 September 2024.

The PAC report revealed that the maternal mortality ratio at Jinja Hospital was 777 per 100,000 live births which is higher than the national ratio of 189 per 100,000 live births.

According to Dr. Apio, the figure should propel government and the relevant committees of Parliament to investigate the likely cause of the deaths.

“This is a very bad case. I would like to move that we pick out this particular aspect and find out what would be the root cause of this bad figure,” said Apio.

Apio said there is need to establish the rate of maternal mortality in other referral hospitals cognizant that the PAC report did not highlight cases in other referral hospitals.

Tayebwa asked the Health Committee Chairperson to expedite Apio’s proposal saying it was timely since Parliament is yet to commence the budget process.

“Sectoral committees need to be interested in reports of accountability committees because there are salient issues that are raised that you could consider during budget,” Tayebwa said.

In a report presented by Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Muwanga Kivumbi,
he highlighted gaps in health service delivery affecting referral hospitals and specialized health institutions such as the Uganda Heart Institute, the Uganda Cancer Institute and the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service.

At Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, the report indicated that the facility spent six months without drugs while Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital had to wait for two months to receive drugs from the National Medical Stores.

MPs expressed dissatisfaction with the practice which they said has persisted and wondered if there was an alternative for people who survive on medicines.

“For people who live on drugs like HIV/AIDS patients, what were they supposed to do for six months’ with delays experienced in Mubende or in Mbale which took 69 days without drugs?” asked Hon. Elijah Okupa (FDC, Kasilo County).

Okupa also called for lifting of the ban on recruitment of health workers.

“This ban on recruitment can apply elsewhere but not in the health sector. This is a matter of life, let there be an exception. We heard that equipment in health facilities is becoming obsolete because there are no staff to run them,” Okupa said.

The report also revealed that there were high volumes of expired drugs at hospitals. The0 legislators called on government to reprimand the accounting officers of the National Medical Stores(NMS) who they blamed for the drug losses.

“The accounting officers’ responses to expiry of medicines varied including failure by the National Medical Stores to collect expired drugs for disposal or have them returned on delivery despite the notices from hospitals. Supply of incomplete combinations of reagents and supply of vital drugs in dire need with a short shelf life,” Muwanga Kivumbi added.

Muwanga Kivumbi added that Uganda Heart Institute lacks essential drugs used in treatment of heart disease, malaria and oral Morphine, a pain reliever.

The Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development (General Duties), Hon. Henry Musasizi said he wished to hear PAC’s findings on the procurement processes in the health sector which he said has a number of gaps.

“We have done procurement audits in many of those entities and we have found issues. Sometimes the rules are overridden and we have found gaps that PAC could investigate in future,” Musasizi said.

The State Minister for Health (General Duties), Hon. Anifa Kawooya pledged to have the ministry discuss the MPs recommendations and those within the PAC report.