Lira’s top local official, Lawrence Egole, recently urged healthcare workers at Lira Regional Referral Hospital to win back the public’s faith in government medical centers. He emphasized that this can be achieved through excellent professional service, deep compassion, and unwavering honesty.
Egole highlighted that the government is investing heavily in advanced healthcare, and this investment must be met with better service and ethical behavior from staff. He noted that Lira Hospital serves as a crucial medical hub for the entire Lango region and beyond. Therefore, it’s essential that every person who seeks care there receives prompt, professional, and kind treatment.
While praising the Ministry of Health for bringing more specialized services to the hospital, which means fewer patients need to travel to Kampala for complicated procedures, Egole also issued a stern warning. He condemned practices like staff not showing up for work, demanding bribes, and providing poor customer service. He stressed that such actions completely destroy public confidence in government healthcare.
Egole powerfully stated that even a few minutes of delay from a healthcare worker can cost a patient their life. He encouraged staff to treat every patient with the same care and respect they would give their own mother, adding that a kind word can be as healing as medicine itself. He also called on the public to stop offering bribes, reminding everyone that both giving and taking bribes fuels corruption.
The discussion also addressed the worrying rise in teenage pregnancies across the Lango sub-region. Dr. Andrew Odur, the Hospital Director, revealed that the area faces one of the country’s highest rates, with approximately 20 percent of teenagers becoming pregnant. He urged communities and all concerned groups to work together immediately to tackle and reverse this alarming trend.