Performance of Procurement Departments in Regional Referral Hospitals of Eastern Uganda
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Sarah Ndibalekera, National Referral Hospital, Mulago, Kampala, Uganda.
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Philip Govule, Faculties of Health Sciences of Uganda, Martyrs University, Kampala, Uganda.
[3]
Robert Anguyo DDM Onzima, Department of International Health, CODES Project, Liverpool school of tropical Medicine, Kampala, Uganda.
History has proved that public procurement entities in Uganda and especially in the health sector, hospitals inclusive are often undervalued with the resultant effect of a hit by corruption following non adherence to procurement processes and procedures, poor financial utilization, inadequate capacity building initiatives, stock outs and non adherence to contract terms. Though the government of Uganda established the procurement function in all public hospitals to streamline acquisition of medicines and sundries, services, equipment and supplies in conformity with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act 2003 as efforts towards improving health service delivery, regional referral hospitals still face issues of scarcity, supply of air, stock out and purchase of absolute supplies. The cross sectional study carried out Specifically in Regional Referral Hospitals (RRHs) of Eastern Uganda namely Jinja, Mbale and Soroti RRHs aimed at finding out the performance of procurement departments (PDs), It examined the capacity of procurement departments to perform their duty, assessed awareness and attitudes of Health workers (HWs) towards the procurement departments. The study found that the PPDA Act 2003 regulations were being followed but quality of items procured was generally substandard, there was scarcity, stock outs and persistent delays. Equipment and physical structures usually were of low quality, and with limited maintenance. Competitive pricing was realized but it did not translate into value for money or cost savings. Some suppliers who won contracts were a disappointment to the supply chain as they would either delay or supply sub-standard goods. Unit heads do not participate in procurement planning. Generally, performance of procurement departments in Regional Referral Hospitals of Eastern Uganda was rated as fair. The study recommended constant revision of the PPDA regulations to suit situations, adapting E- procurement, timely release of funds from treasury and more involvement of user departments in procurement planning.
Performance, Procurement Departments, Regional Referral Hospitals, Eastern Uganda
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