One In Every Three Adults In Teso Suffers From A Non Communicable Disease Of Some Sort- Uganda Medical Association Boss

A new office for Uganda Medical Association (UMA), which unites all doctors and health workers in Uganda, has been earmarked to serve the entire Teso sub region.

To be situated along Soroti City's Central Avenue opposite Soroti playgrounds, the UMA office will take care of the entire sub region and it will be inaugurated in a few weeks time.

It will also be used for liaison purposes and to also enable coordination of feedback from the community members all the way to the health workers' apex body (UMA) for remedial interventions to be effected.

The news was broken by Dr Ouma, who is the UMA Chairperson in charge of Teso sub region's branch. Dr. Ouma delivered the good news to hundreds of Soroti residents and dignitaries who had converged at Bethesda Hospital grounds to witness celebrations to mark 10 years of the facility's productive existence and also the launching of the game-changing Telemedicine Center whose introduction is being funded by a US-based medical organisation called Global Offsite Care whose global Telemedicine Ambassador Princess Dr. Frances Azuka Kemelangha flanked area MP Jonathan Ebwalu as he presided over the launching ceremony.

In his speech, Dr. Ouma called on the ordinary people of Teso and Soroti City in particular never to accept less than effective service and being mistreated by any health worker, especially those working at government hospitals like Soroti Regional Referral Hospital and others. Saying Bethesda was a good hospital from where he got his wife and even had his twins delivered, Dr. Ouma confessed that the high standards the Bethesda Hospital management had set had challenged those working in public facilities to up their game.

 He demanded that his own colleagues in public facilities emulate the work ethic of their counterparts working at Bethesda Hospital. Ouma enumerated things which contribute to poor health services delivery in Teso, including indifference, absenteeism and deliberate late coming among health workers and implored community members to take advantage of his office and the soon-to-be inaugurated new UMA office and begin to fearlessly report medics who engage in floppy conduct.

 "I encourage all of you to visit our offices and report poorly behaved health workers who deprive you access to health services in any way," said Dr. Ouma who also saluted the Bethesda Hospital management for being supportive of UMA activities by allowing their health workers to pay up for their membership and to fully participate in Association activities, as opposed to being hostile to the UMA agenda which tends to prioritize welfare of health workers, decent pay and better working conditions.

While calling on community members to utilise the Teso UMA branch offices to give feedback and report maltreatment by health workers, Dr. Ouma assured all that the feedback and sensitive service delivery-related information they give will be treated with utmost confidentiality because whistle blower protection is these days a matter of law in Uganda.

Ouma also commended Bethesda Hospital for moving ahead of even the GoU whose Ministry of Health, he said, is yet to finalise the relevant documentation and policy papers providing for adaptation and application of Telemedicine in provision of health services to the people. Saying UMA is a platform for mentorship and knowledge transfer among medics, Dr. Ouma looked forward to Bethesda Hospital facilitating knowledge transfer regarding the Telemedicine technology so as to capacitate health workers from public facilities such as Soroti Regional Referral Hospital.

 Praising the Bethesda Hospital directors for always being visionary and seeing far, Dr. Ouma observed that Telemedicine was the way to go given growing number of patients amidst inadequate human and financial resources. "The number of patients is always growing yet health workers numbers aren't growing.

This makes it hard for doctors to see all the patients physically and that's how Telemedicine comes in as a game-changer which we must all embrace," said Dr Ouma. He added that in Teso sub region, currently, one in every three adults suffers from a non-communicable disease of some sort. "This makes the need to see the doctor more paramount than ever before yet the health workers are few and limited in number. They can't be available to whoever requires them which is why Telemedicine is the future.

This Telemedicine Center at Bethesda Hospital will enable increased access to the few specialists available [through virtual means]." Dr. Ouma urged the community in Teso to embrace and accept Bethesda Hospital as their own because of the difference this newly-installed Telemedicine technology is going to make.

 "Knowing the commitment of its directors when it comes to pursuing excellence, I can predict that Bethesda Hospital is going to become a Regional Center of excellence in Telemedicine provision.

 This will be excellent because at some point, the Ministry of Health will have to require all of us at public hospitals to embrace Telemedicine because it's the way to go and we shall have to come here and benchmark on this Telemedicine Center. "