RESIDENTS RAISE ALARM OVER ABSENCE OF HEALTH WORKERS AT ALOKOLUM HC IN GULU CITY

Alokolum Health Centre II staff building that has been abandoned by the staff. Photo by Desire Alimocan
 
By Desire Alimocan
 
Gulu City

Residents of Alokolum Ward in Gulu City are facing a crisis of access to proper Health Services as a result of laxity by medical workers at Alokolum Health Centre II in Gulu City.
 
The negligence ranges from reporting late to the health center, leaving early before the closing time, failure to provide timely services to the patients and abandoning the health center without any proper security. 
 
On January 10, 2025, while speaking to Gulu City Secretary for Health and Education, Doreen Luboyo Aber, the residents who went to the facility to receive medical attention, but couldn’t receive anything by 10:00am, because the facility was closed explain how this has affected them.
 
“I lost my baby to a miscarriage from here, the short light skinned nurse was here but she did not help me. The medical workers here do not help,” a sad looking mother recalled.
 
Another mother also spoke anonymously saying her child could not be vaccinated because of the act of negligence.
 
“Last time I came here to immunize my child at 11:30am, the medical workers sent me away and told me they can’t open the vaccines. Now I have come and they are not here,” she said.

 However, one of the medical workers, only identified as Ojok who came at a later time, explained saying, “Currently, we are two here, the in charge is on leave and the midwife is sick. I come here every day and when I come, no patient goes without being seen. I also have other duties that I have been assigned to do in other health facilities in the city that I go to every morning before coming here. Alokolum has been facing the problem of competition in work and reporting late.”
In response to the matter, Luboyo explained that the health workers need to be laid off since they are not interested in doing their work.
 
“We shall fight hard because we don’t want this foolery to continue. These days the government pays medical workers a whole lot of money which should give them the reason to deliver the services. I being the secretary for Health and Education, will ensure these people are laid off because they don’t want to work,” Luboyo affirmed.
 
Alokolum Health Centre II has been suffering from this problem for a long time despite the efforts put to make the facility help the residents.
 
One of the biggest challenges of late arrival to the facility is because the medical workers supposed to work there do not stay at the facility, despite the fact that the facility has well established staff residents.