Health Minister’s Emergency Hospital Tour
On Tuesday, Health Minister Sarah Cleto Rial walked the corridors of Juba Teaching Hospital after social networks lit up with images of overcrowded wards and scant supplies. Her visit drew attention to the facility’s dual role as the country’s top referral centre and medical training hub.
She met Director General Dr. Anthony Lupai Simon in a closed session aimed at gauging service quality, stock levels and staffing trends. Both teams agreed that a transparent assessment was overdue amid mounting public complaints about long queues and unpredictable drug availability.
Chronic Resource Gaps Surface
Hospital insiders say consultants increasingly split time with private clinics, leaving wards to interns who brave thirty-hour shifts without consistent gloves, transport or meals. The young doctors shoulder emergency rooms and maternity wards, yet their stipends rarely cover basic necessities, fuelling professional burnout and public frustration.
Families often buy syringes, IV fluids and cannulas at roadside pharmacies before admission. Referrals arrive in waves: critical cases seeking tertiary care, patients depleted by private fees, and chronically ill people needing palliation. A recent maternal death underscored the stakes for an already strained obstetric unit.
Ministry’s Strategic Response
Minister Cleto pledged closer coordination with hospital leadership to match bed capacity with rising admissions and to fast-track supply orders. She argued that targeted training, particularly in emergency obstetrics and critical care, will lift standards once resources stabilise.
The meeting ended with a timeline for quarterly reviews, allowing data-driven adjustments as regional health crises, including cross-border outbreaks, evolve. While funding constraints persist, officials insist the process marks a turning point. “Continuous monitoring is vital,” Dr. Simon noted outside the ward block.
Public Expectation and Next Steps
Civil society groups caution that audit reports must translate into stocked pharmacies and motivated staff, not paperwork. For now, patients watch every ministerial convoy that enters the gate, hoping the next visit signals tangible change rather than another fleeting inspection.