A takeover proposal of Entebbe Grade “A” hospital by State House has drawn loud protests from leaders of Wakiso district who claim the deal goes against the wishes of many residents.
In an interview with The Observer last week, Matia Lwanga Bwanika, the Wakiso district chairperson, said he had received a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on January 17, from State House instructing the district administration to sign it and allow the takeover of the hospital, which sits on three acres of land.
“The chief administration officer (CAO) of Wakiso district, Luke Lokuda, sent me this MOU on the proposed change in management of Entebbe Grade “A” hospital and he wanted me to sign it but I refused because I can’t hand over something to State House that belongs to the district,” he said.
Bwanika said, if State House takes over management of the hospital, it won’t be open to the general public since State House staff, VIPs and its visitors will be the ones treated there.
“Have you ever seen a place accessed by the president, his staff and visitors open to the general public?” he asked.
The district contends that the takeover would have serious consequences on the number of projects run in partnership with international donors such as the Medical Research Council, UK and Uganda Virus Research Institute. Bwanika said Grade “A” hospi- tal contributes over 50 per cent of the total budget that runs the Entebbe general hospital.
Don Wanyama, the senior presidential press secretary, said on Monday that State House wants to take over management of the hospital “since heads of state and other dignitaries visiting the country can’t be treated by anybody and can’t go to public hospitals to access medical treatment.”
Wanyama said, the decision had been made after several meetings with different stakeholders in the district who agreed.
“The hospital was dilapidated and abandoned. But when we proposed to upgrade it, politicians like Bwanika [started] politicizing issues, thinking that State House wants to grab the hospital land which is not true,” Wanyama said.
In 2012, there was a plan by ministry of Defence and ministry of Health to turn the facility into a military hospital but, again, the Wakiso district authorities were not interested.
The spokesman of the Special Forces Command (SFC), Chris Magezi, said this week that UPDF no longer has interest in the hospital since they have a medical facility within Entebbe army barracks.
THE MOU
According to the proposed MOU, a copy of which we have seen, the president directed that Entebbe Grade “A” hospital be restructured and improved to provide services to State House patients and residents of Entebbe.
The purpose of the MOU is to formalize the change in management and control of the hospital from Wakiso district local government to State House.
The MOU further asks Wakiso district to maintain the current staff at the hospital, pay their salaries and also maintain the budgetary provision of the hospital even as its management changes to State House.
Vivian Nakaliika, the spokes- person of the ministry of Health, said State House will handle many of the logistical issues to do with the hospital.
“Although the hospital is under the ministry of Health, many of the issues will be handled by State House,” she said.
Bwanika said, they had told State House that if they want the district to hand over the hospital, they should first do a valuation of the land and structures, and then provide an alternative place where a new one shall be built before the takeover.
The MoU is to come into effect from the date of the signing by all parties and shall remain in force for 10 years, but this period can be extended by the partners in case of need.
Bwanika said the hospital provides services to the Entebbe community and patients from as far as Buvuma, Kalangala, Mukono, Buikwe and Masaka districts. The hospital also serves local and international tourists, Entebbe airport staff, transit passengers, UN staff and others.
“It’s the only private hospital that is near the airport; so, in case of any emergency, we shall have nowhere to take the victims,” Bwanika said.
HISTORY
Entebbe Grade “A” hospital was built in 1904 to serve colonial staff who were based there. In 1918, Entebbe Grade “B” hospital was built to serve the local community.
The two hospitals, Grade “A” and Grade “B”, had a combined capacity of 149 beds and were designed to cater for the Entebbe population estimated at 2,000 by 1918.
However, the two hospitals operated independently, each with a separate budgetary allocation and staff structure till 1998 when they were merged by the ministry of Health.
They were then split into three wings: the private wing (Entebbe Grade “A”), the general wing (Entebbe Grade “B”), and the isolation wing.
zurah@observer.ug