Soroti Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda is grappling with a severe staff shortage, leaving nurses overwhelmed and struggling to provide adequate care to patients. According to Dennis Katinda, the hospital's Senior Human Resource Officer, some nurses are responsible for more than 50 inpatients, leading to physical and emotional exhaustion. The shortage has resulted in some wards operating with only one or two nurses on a shift, instead of the recommended four or five.
The hospital's staffing level is currently at about 22 percent, with only 268 of its 1,235 approved positions filled, leaving 967 vacancies. Katinda told the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) Central that the shortage is particularly challenging because the same small pool of health workers must also conduct supervision, mentorship, and support activities at lower health facilities across the region. This has forced the hospital to collapse some shifts, with nurses working beyond their designated shifts to keep services running.
The situation is expected to worsen with the departure of donor-funded workers, including 30 contracted staff supporting services such as HIV and chronic care, who are expected to leave by September 30. The hospital is also facing critical vacancies, including a critical care physician, radiologist, and physicist. The staffing crisis has affected specialized services, and the hospital is struggling to provide adequate care to patients.
The hospital's management, led by Director Dr. Ben Watmon, appeared before PAC Central to respond to queries raised by the Auditor General for the 2024/2025 financial year. The committee also questioned why millions of shillings worth of medical equipment procured for the hospital had not translated into functioning services. The Auditor General found that 17 pieces of medical equipment valued at Shs2.183 billion were idle and not in use at the time of the audit.
The audit established that some equipment, including three ventilators and four ICU beds, were not operational due to lack of essential equipment. Two of the hospital's three oxygen plants, each valued at about Shs200 million, were also not operational. Watmon told MPs that much of the hospital's equipment and infrastructure was old and outdated, arguing that Soroti requires a new hospital rather than continued piecemeal interventions.
The committee also examined financial and administrative issues at the hospital, including Shs3.672 billion spent on the UBTS Blood Bank without a memorandum of understanding. The report also cited Shs1.09 billion in expenditure outside the approved budget, while two ambulances valued at Shs640 million were off the road. On recruitment, Watmon said management had secured clearance to recruit 102 staff, including 12 positions intended to absorb workers affected by the withdrawal of US government-supported programmes.
The hospital is also facing challenges with salary underpayments, pension payments, and payroll anomalies. Management attributed several discrepancies to problems in the Human Capital Management system, and officials admitted that some staff were being paid manually because their records had not been transferred correctly into the system. The committee directed management to provide a status report on pensioners, including those who had been paid and those still awaiting their benefits.
Key points
- Nurses at Soroti Hospital are caring for over 50 patients due to severe staff shortages.
- The hospital's staffing level is currently at about 22 percent, with 967 vacancies.
- Millions of shillings worth of medical equipment procured for the hospital are idle and not in use.
