Dr. Emmanuel Ochola, Director of Scientific Affairs at Lacor Hospital, reports that these individuals often linger around the hospital gate, with some gaining access by pretending to be caregivers.
St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu is facing challenges with middlemen reportedly luring patients away from their hospital beds to private health facilities. This group, comprised of medical personnel, herbalists, and representatives of various churches, has infiltrated the hospital, scouting for patients and offering alternative treatments outside the hospital.
Dr. Emmanuel Ochola, Director of Scientific Affairs at Lacor Hospital, reports that these individuals often linger around the hospital gate, with some gaining access by pretending to be caregivers. "They pretend to be the caregivers of patients, some of whom hang around the hospital gate and divert patients to their facilities," Dr. Ochola explained during a stakeholders' meeting."
He further noted that, in many cases, patients sneak out of the hospital to attend prayer healing sessions. While some return to their hospital beds, others pass away outside and are later brought to the hospital mortuary.
//Cue in: "Yes also for prayers …
Cue out:… these patients together,"//
At a recent stakeholder conference during the hospital's annual performance review, Alfred Kibwola, a patient admitted in 2023 from Paboo, revealed that several individuals had approached him, urging him to abandon treatment at Lacor in favor of their facilities.
Kibwola also mentioned that within the hospital premises, these individuals quietly move from ward to ward, trying to identify patients and engage them in private deals. "They always convince me to take my patients to their facilities. It’s happened three times now, but I have reported each incident to the hospital," he added.
Ponsiano Okot, a patient from Kitgum District, has been at the orthopedic department in Lacor for more than a year after surviving a road crash that left him with a broken limb and leg. He also complained of similar encounters.
Okot, whose condition requires an artificial limb costing $5,000 (about 18.6 million shillings), had his treatment subsidized by the hospital to 2.5 million shillings, though he still could not afford it. In this dilemma, he faced pressure from herbalists and medics from other health facilities who offered alternative remedies.
"We don’t know how they access the hospital, but they are present each day in the wards, and we don’t know their real motives, which the hospital authorities should be concerned about," Okot further explained.
The Lacor Hospital Medical Director, Dr. Emintone Odong, warned against the abandonment of elderly patients, an issue the hospital has long struggled with as attendants leave them without care.
Such instances expose these patients to risk from dubious individuals who may exploit the existing gaps for their interests, potentially damaging the hospital's reputation.
Dr. Odong noted that abandoned patients often experience psychological distress and suffer from additional health conditions and co-infections, complicating treatment and prolonging hospital stays, while some patients do not survive. "I can count how many elderly people are abandoned each day. When we ask them, they say they were dropped off, but they don’t know where their children are," Dr. Odong stated.
He added, "The unfortunate thing is when they die like this, you see people come with cars asking for the body to be put in the fridge. But are we celebrating death? You save somebody when they are still alive."
Between July 2023 and July 2024, Lacor Hospital registered a total of 1,387 patient deaths—724 of whom were children and 663 adults, according to the 2022/2023 hospital performance reports.
The top causes of death in children included premature birth (15.47%), respiratory distress (10.91%), neonatal conditions (8.15%), malaria (7.73%), heart diseases (7.33%), and anemia (7.32%).
In adults, the leading causes were heart diseases and strokes (14.35%), septic shocks (7.93%), liver cirrhosis and hepatitis B (7.86%), anemia (6.27%), and injuries, fractures, and burns (6.20%).
The highest mortality rate was recorded in medical wards at 10.45%, attributed to HIV, cancer, tuberculosis, and other non-communicable diseases.
The report also noted that while Lacor reduced overall patient deaths by 4.36% in the review year, more could be done to save lives if patients arrived at the hospital before reaching terminal stages.
"If patients come to the hospital before their conditions reach severity, we would have the opportunity to save more lives," remarked Dr. Emmanuel Ochola, the Hospital's Scientific Director.
In children, the neonatal unit, which typically receives very delicate babies, had a 4.66% mortality rate, while intensive care units accounted for 8.40% of total inpatient deaths.
The hospital saw a reduction in outpatient attendance, from 159,262 in 2023 to 139,942 by July 2024—a decrease of 14.6%. This means Lacor receives an average of 8,140 outpatients monthly.
However, the number of admissions rose from 30,263 in July 2023 to 33,180 by July 2024, marking an increase of 9.6%, attributed to referrals from sister hospitals and government health facilities.
Records from the admission department show a decrease in the average length of patient stays in the wards from 7 days to 5 days, depending on their conditions.
The bed occupancy rate increased from 76.47% in 2023 to 89% in July 2024. The reports also highlighted that 14% of patients admitted acquired new diseases during their hospital stay due to a lack of proper care.
Founded in 1959 as a faith-based nonprofit private health facility with a 30-bed capacity, the hospital has grown over the past decades and currently has a capacity of 483 beds.
During the peak of the Northern Uganda insurgency led by the Lord's Resistance Army, many health facilities in the region collapsed, leaving Lacor to shoulder the burden of healthcare provision.
Dr. Corti Foundation, an Italian-based organization founded by Dr. Dominique Atim Corti, has pledged to prioritize patient care with subsidized treatment costs.
Dr. Atim noted that the hospital has engaged the Ministry of Health to increase its funding for primary healthcare, but this has not yet been realized, leaving the hospital financially strained.
Lacor largely relies on donations, which account for 67% of its approved 27 billion shilling budget for the 2024/2025 financial year. Patient bills make up 24%, government funding contributes 5% (180 million shillings), and the clinical school accounts for 8%.
Dr. Atim expressed concern that current global conflicts, such as those between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine, have left the Italian government stretched in its ability to provide donations.
"My home government has told me that there is no money because the larger support is going to those trapped in wars in Europe and the Middle East, and that is the dilemma we face here," Dr. Atim added.
Simon Wokorach
Freelancer