Mental health crisis deepens as Butabika National Referral Hospital faces severe staff shortage
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government), the hospital’s Executive Director, Dr Juliet Nakku, revealed that the facility requires at least Shs120 billion to address pressing operational gaps, expand infrastructure, and recruit essential staff.
Butabika National Referral Hospital is grappling with a critical shortage of mental health specialists, with only 14 psychiatric doctors attending to more than 1,000 patients, raising alarm over the state of mental healthcare in Uganda.
Appearing before the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government), the hospital’s Executive Director, Dr Juliet Nakku, revealed that the facility requires at least Shs120 billion to address pressing operational gaps, expand infrastructure, and recruit essential staff.
Dr Nakku highlighted the overwhelming workload facing the hospital’s workforce, noting that a single nurse is currently responsible for more than 60 patients—far beyond manageable limits. This strain, she said, is compromising the quality of care and placing immense pressure on already stretched health workers.
The revelations come amid growing concern from legislators over the rising burden of mental health conditions, including Depression and Suicide, across the country.
Dr Nakku emphasized that decentralizing mental health services is key to addressing the crisis. Expanding care at regional and community health facilities, she argued, would enable early diagnosis and treatment, while significantly reducing congestion at the national referral hospital.
Lawmakers on the committee called for urgent government intervention, warning that without increased investment and systemic reforms, Uganda’s mental health system risks being overwhelmed by growing demand.
