Uganda’s Health Minister, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, has ordered investigations into the management and operations of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital after an unannounced late-night inspection exposed complaints of poor patient care, alleged extortion, medicine shortages and overcrowding.
The minister visited the hospital on Saturday night after receiving reports from patients and caregivers who claimed that some health workers were neglecting patients, demanding illegal payments and failing to provide timely medical attention.
Baryomunsi arrived shortly before midnight and began his inspection at the Intensive Care Unit, where only two medical interns were attending to emergency patients. He later reviewed patient records and spoke directly with patients and their caregivers, many of whom described long waits for treatment and a lack of essential medicines.
Several caregivers said they had been instructed to buy drugs and medical supplies from private pharmacies despite seeking treatment at a government-funded hospital. Others alleged that some staff demanded money before patients could access certain services.
As the inspection continued into the early hours of Sunday, the minister visited female medical wards where patients reported severe congestion, poor sanitation and shortages of gloves, syringes and other essential supplies. Some patients said the conditions had left them feeling abandoned during a period when they were most vulnerable.
Acting Hospital Director Dr. Deus Twesigye joined the inspection at about 1 a.m. During a visit to the maternity ward, the officer in charge, Rossette Amutuhaire, told the minister that the unit is struggling with too few delivery beds, an inadequate number of midwives and persistent shortages of medicines as patient numbers continue to rise.
The visit followed recent public criticism of the hospital after the reported death of a patient whose blood transfusion was allegedly delayed. The incident prompted protests by patients and caregivers who demanded improvements in service delivery.
During the inspection, some patients also told the minister they had been asked to pay between 200,000 and 250,000 Ugandan shillings for diagnostic services, including X-rays, CT scans and MRI examinations.
Speaking to journalists after the inspection, Baryomunsi said the allegations would be investigated and warned that misconduct by health workers would not be tolerated.
“One of the caretakers told me that doctors here asked her for Shs250,000 for an X-ray, and when she failed to raise the money, she remained unattended to for six days. We cannot allow this to continue,” he said.
The minister also raised concerns about weaknesses in the hospital’s security system and instructed the administration to strengthen security measures.
Twesigye acknowledged many of the challenges highlighted during the inspection but said the hospital is under immense pressure because it serves far more patients than the available resources can support.
He said the facility continues to experience shortages of medicines, medical supplies and funding, making it difficult to meet the growing demand for specialized healthcare services.
Despite the challenges, the government says plans remain in place to upgrade Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital into a national referral hospital with improved infrastructure, modern equipment and increased medical supplies to strengthen healthcare delivery in western Uganda.
The investigation ordered by the Health Ministry is expected to establish whether the reported cases of negligence, illegal charges and poor patient care stem from individual misconduct, systemic failures or broader resource constraints within one of Uganda’s busiest referral hospitals.
