Kololo Hospital operates without a license – UMDPC

Kololo Hospital operates without a license - UMDPC

Kampala, Uganda | URN | Kololo Hospital, one of the upscale health facilities in Kampala has operated without a license for the last three years. This was confirmed by Dr Katumba Ssentongo, the registrar of the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council (UMDPC).

Health units are required to submit a duly filled and signed application form endorsed by the local authority or regional inspector and a copy of the previous year’s Operational License before a new license is issued.

Also needed as part of the process, is a valid practising License of the supervising doctor, accompanied by his commitment letter. The Supervising Doctor is expected to have three years’ experience from the date of full registration with Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council (UMDPC).

In the commitment, the Supervising Doctor confirms that they have the required experience and undertakes to supervise the health facility in compliance with the UMDPC act and other related legislation.

The facilities are also expected to pay a fee which varies depending on the number of beds for in Patient services.

According to the fees structure, private facilities that operate 1-10 beds in Kampala, pay an annual license fee of 500,000 Shillings, those with beds ranging between 11 to 20, pay 750,000 Shillings while those running between 21 to 50 beds pay an annual fee of one million Shillings.

Any private facility with more than 51 beds pays 1,250,000 Shillings and those with more than 100 beds pay 1.5 million Shillings.

But according to Katumba, Kololo Hospital has failed to fulfil the requirements for several years, even though the facility continues to operate. The hospital does not also feature on the list of licensed health units on the register of the Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council (UMDPC).

A whistleblower had earlier indicated that the hospital failed to renew its license because of the management fell out with the supervising doctor after a disagreement arising from payment and the inability by the proprietor, businessman Mark Kazoora to procure the necessary equipment for the hospital to function well.

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According to the whistleblower, the available equipment is defective and has been used, over the years, to issue inaccurate results.

Katumba says that Kazoora has previously been summoned by the council to answer questions relating to the operations of the facility. At that time, he says, they ordered that the hospital be closed but the owner disregarded the directive until he was summoned to the council.

Katumba added that the council is considering a spot check to establish whether allegations raised about the facility having defective equipment and issuing fake results are true.