Mbale Regional Referral Hospital Tops Uganda’s Health Sector Performance for Second Consecutive Year

For the second year running, Mbale Regional Referral Hospital has secured the top spot as the best referral hospital in Uganda, as per the annual health sector performance report for the financial year 2022/23.

Mbale Referral Hospital achieved the highest Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) score of 120,418, surpassing other hospitals, with its performance being three times greater than the second-best Hoima Regional Referral Hospital. Additionally, it recorded an Ambulatory Patient Group (APG) score of 201,192.

Link Bus Driver Arrested for Texting While Driving; Safety Concerns Grow

In the 2022/23 period, the hospital admitted a total of 61,759 patients, with 81,479 outpatients admitted. St. Mary’s Lacor secured the third position, while Masaka, Arua, and Lira followed as the fourth, fifth, and sixth best referral hospitals, respectively. Tumble, Entebbe, and Soroti Referral Hospitals were rated as having the poorest performance.

The exceptional performance of Mbale Referral Hospital, attributing to its high DRG score, can be linked to its larger catchment population that serves regions of Bugisu, Sebei, and Bukedi.

Coca-Cola Uganda Partners with Acacia Foundation to Address Plastic Waste Challenge

However, the report indicated that referral hospitals with high DRG scores tended to have poorer outcomes due to congestion, impacting the quality of services provided to patients.

This achievement marks Mbale Regional Referral Hospital’s back-to-back top ranking, as it secured the best position in both the 2021/22 and 2022/23 annual health performance reports.

The release of the annual health sector performance report for the financial year 2022/23 occurred during the 29th Health Sector Joint Review Mission held at Speke Resort Munyonyo on November 1st, 2023. The theme of the 29th health sector joint review mission was “Leveraging community health approaches and systems as catalysts for strengthening population health and safety in Uganda.”