The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The continued ping pong between the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) and ROKO construction company over failure to complete works on the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is costing lives, Dr John Omagino warned on Wednesday.
Dr Omagino who is the Executive Director of the Institute says they currently have over 150 people awaiting different kinds of heart surgeries, but they can’t take them to theatre because of inadequate intensive care services.
By now, he says that the institute would be having a 16-bed ICU, but they are stuck with the old four-bed facility even as they quickly paid them a total bill of 3.5 billion Shillings back in 2015, when the project started with a guarantee that the facility will be delivered promptly.
Instead, he says they have been in and out of court, with now ROKO contending that they had done up to 75 percent of the work before the time they got financial problems, yet they had only delivered 55 percent. He says the Institute wants the money remitted.
For them to be able to complete the project, the institute needs two billion Shillings to complete the civil work and Omagino says they have already secured a donation of USD 4.3 million from the government of Hungary for stocking the necessary equipment.
However, the ICU is not the only challenge that the institute faces, as even with becoming an autonomous institution independent of Mulago Specialised National Referral Hospital, they are still operating from the often crowded mother hospital despite efforts spanning years to leave.
Dentist Dr James Magara who has just been sworn afresh as the chairman of the second nine-member board says if they don’t deliver a new home in their four-years term that started yesterday, then they will have failed on their mandate.
The mooted facility that will seat on a 10-acre piece of land in Naguru is expected to be delivered fully equipped at a cost of USD 75 million. The government is contributing USD 5 million and the rest is going to be a loan.
The first board, Magara says was more preoccupied with putting in place guiding policies, regulations and manuals that guarantee the provision of up to date health service. They then started lobbying to have a spacious piece of land to house the Institute although they had earlier secured two acres.
He says this wasn’t enough for a facility that aims to become a global centre of excellence for cardiac-related care.
The members of the new board include Mulago Deputy Director Dr Rose Mary Byanyima, Dr Oyoo Charles Akia, a Commissioner in the Ministry of Health, Prof. Damalie Nakanjako, the Principal College of Health at Makerere University and Mr Grace Stuart Ndyareeba among others.
The institute had its first board in 2017 following the passing of the Uganda Heart Institute Act, 2016 which provided for its formulation.
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