A case study for the project ‘Capacity, Change and Performance’
V. Hauck, ECDPM Discussion Paper 57A, 2004. Lacor Hospital in Gulu District, northern Uganda, formerly an isolated missionary hospital, is now fully integrated into the Ugandan health system. The case study describes how the hospital has grown into a centre of excellence, setting an example for the rest of the health system and helping to build health care capacity for the whole country. It is an extraordinary example of capacity development, adaptation and performance in a region characterised by civil war, extreme poverty and outbreaks of virulent epidemics. The case provides insights into a change process that has evolved incrementally over time with comparatively little external intervention. The case highlights the development of a set of core capabilities within the organisation that have enabled it to learn to adapt to an ever changing environment while nurturing and protecting a set of core values and in the process, maintaining the highest levels of service delivery. Crucial to the entire process has been the progressive transfer of leadership from the hospital’s founders to a new generation of committed health workers, as well as a willingness to engage with the wider health care system.