By Jennifer Acheng
The former Abim district Hospital medical superintendent, Dr Edison Atwine has been arrested for negligence of duty.
Dr Atwine was reportedly picked up by the joint security forces in the wee hours of Saturday night from his hospital quarters, under the orders of the state house health monitoring unit.
Godfry Okello, the Abim district secretary for health and education says in July 2019, the said doctor was given leave to further his studies but did not return to work within the stipulated year of July 2022 as expected. Okello adds that even after his eventual return, Dr Atwine has since been on and off duty.
He claims that after an investigation was launched by the statehouse health monitoring unit recently, it was discovered that Dr Atwine had often been away without official leave, as well as caused several referrals and deaths of patients at the hospital.
He adds that the medical officer was later summoned by the health monitoring unit but did not comply, leading to his eventual arrest on Saturday.
According to Okello, the embattled former medical superintendent, is suspected to be working at an undisclosed hospital in Kampala, but partially working in Abim, something he says has greatly affected service delivery at the hospital
James Shilaku the Abim resident district commissioner, who confirmed the arrest says Atwine has been under investigation since 2018,following the death of an expectant mother and her baby at Abim Hospital, where he was accused of neglect of duty. He says the doctor has been driven to Kampala to answer charges of neglect of duty and causing death to a mother.
Shilaku is now warning civil servants against such behavior, calling upon them to always work diligently to serve the communities in line with the code of conduct.
In 2018, Jenifer Awor an expectant mother from Abil village in Magamaga sub county died with her baby after a long struggle to deliver without any help from a doctor present at the hospital.
