AHPC CLOSES FOUR ILLEGAL FACILITIES IN ARUA CITY

 
Officials from Allied Health Professionals Council interacting with Alionzi Fred who has being illegally operating Ray of Hope Clinic in Arua city.
 
By Dramadri Federick
Arua city
 
The Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC) a body mandated to regulate, supervise and control the training, practice and other related matters of Allied Health Professionals in Uganda, has closed four clinics and drug shops in Arua City for operating illegally and using unqualified medical personnel.
 
The affected clinics and drugs shops including Junub Medical Center and Miracle Medical Clinic all located at Pajulu BAT trading center, others are City Imaging consults in Kebir Cell off Onduparaka road and Ray of Hope clinic in Tanganyika ward along Rhino camp road were closed in an operation to clamp down on illegal health service providers.
At the time of operation most of the proprietors of the facilities were not present except unqualified staffs including students were got in these unregistered drug shops and clinics.
 
At Ray of Hope Clinic in Tanganyika Ward Arua central division, officials found out that the proprietor Fred Alionzi a Clinical officer had set an admission ward, his bedroom and the laboratory within a room subdivided by plywood something regarded as dangerous to the patients.
 
Alionzi who completed his course in 2023 by law has not qualified to start establishing a facility, his plea to leave the facility operate never yielded.
 
“I don’t know how you people can help me basing on the situations you have found here, I’m a human being and if this is supposed to be some of you, it would also be very hard for you. It’s a hard reality, people are expecting from me from the family that paid my school fees,” Alionzi pleaded.
 
 
As per the Allied health professionals council for any person intending to establish a clinic or a drug shop he/she must have attained a minimum of 4 years’ experience after completion of the professional course from a recognized institution before setting up a facility. 

Mubiru Micheal Kayizzi the Quality Assurance manager at Allied Health Professionals Council says the affected health facilities were found operating without authorization something endangering the lives of the public.
 
He says they found some of the clinics and drugs shops being operated by teachers and accountants, who don't have any training in health matters.
 
Mubiru noted that registration of a clinic costs 250,000 shillings but because most of them are opened by the unqualified personnel and they fail to go and register them.
 
“We found in City Imaging consults that the proprietor who is working in the Arua Regional Referral Hospital had employed student nurses, student Radiographer and had patients directed from the Hospital to come for radio imaging. This is really very absurd, we are calling upon other stakeholder to come up and we curb down on this vice so that we protect our public,” Mubiru explained.
 

Mubiru Micheal Kayizzi the Quality Assurance manager, AHPC during the crackdown on illegal facilities in Arua city.
 
The Uganda Dental and Medical Practitioners Act provides for a fine of not more than 3,000,000 shillings or a jail term of not more than 3years or both for a person illegally operating a health facility of any form without required documents.

The Allied health professional council was established under the Allied Health Professionals Act Cap. 268. It is mandated to regulate supervise and control the training, practice and other related matters of Allied Health Professionals in Uganda.