Health workers in the West Nile region are sighing with relief following the commissioning of an electronic recruitment system hub for the sub-region.
The facility, located at Arua Regional Referral Hospital’s Out Patients Department (OPD) in Arua city, is equipped with six computers, a printer, and a Wi-Fi router.
While commissioning the facility on Wednesday, Professor Pius Okong, the chairperson of the Health Service Commission, emphasized that the hub is not only meant for the staff of Arua Regional Referral Hospital but for all health workers in the West Nile sub-region. He further noted that they have already trained four staff members to manage and operate the electronic recruitment system.
Victor Waiswa, the ICT Officer, says that the electronic recruitment system regional hub is expected to save health workers in the sub-region from incurring travel costs to Kampala to submit their job applications for health sector opportunities.
“Initially, health workers had to travel to Kampala to submit their job applications, incurring significant costs and time,” said Waiswa. “Now, with this hub, they can conveniently apply from Arua.”
Dr. Asiimwe Ian Shane, the Acting Director of Arua Regional Referral Hospital, welcomed the development, describing it as timely. He urged health workers in the sub-region to take advantage of this system to save both time and resources.
Joyce Anite, a senior nursing officer at Arua Regional Hospital, added that the new system will not only reduce the overall costs of applying for jobs but will also strengthen research capabilities.
The Health Service Commission e-Recruitment System is a computerized human resource management system used for recruitment. It is a web-based modular system accessible to Health Service Commission staff and health institutions according to their duties and permissions, with an interface for the general public.
The system, launched in October 2017, replaced the manual recruitment system that the Health Service Commission had been operating since 1998.