Doctors, govt meet fails to end strike
Some of the medical interns confront police at the gate of Ministry of Health in Kampala during a demonstration over their delayed deployment last week. PHOTO/ ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The Uganda Medical Association says they want the resolution made in the meeting written down.
A meeting between the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) and government officials has failed to end the prolonged doctors’ strike and delayed deployment of medical interns.
The meeting, which was chaired by the head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet, Ms Lucy Nakyobe, was held at the Office of the President last Friday.
UMA said the meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Public Service and Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners Council (UMDPC).
In a statement released yesterday, UMA said their members would only suspend the strike, which started last month, after getting the resolutions of the Friday meeting “on paper as a commitment from government”.
The announcement followed an emergency general meeting which was held on Saturday with UMA members in which they discussed resolutions from the Friday meeting and other earlier feedback from the government.
“The head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet communicated that Cabinet had already rejected the proposal of self-sponsored internship and had agreed to continue with the government’s commitment to facilitate allowances for interns and senior house officers (SHOs) and she directed Ministry of Finance to look for funds and pay these allowances, plus the earlier ones,” the UMA statement reads.
“Based on the above information and the discussion in the Extra Ordinary General Meeting of UMA the following resolutions were made; Suspend the industrial action after getting the resolutions of this meeting held on Friday June 8 at the President’s Office on paper as a commitment from government,” the statement reads.
Efforts to get a comment from Ms Nakyobe were futile by press time but the spokesperson of the Health ministry, Mr Emmanuel Ainebyoona, confirmed that the meeting happened.
In their statement, UMA also said: “the head of Public Service and the Secretary to Cabinet told Ministry of Health to deploy all medical interns without discrimination as Ministry of Finance finds the funds to pay their allowances as was directed by Cabinet.”
However, Mr Ainebyoona said the Health ministry wouldn’t take that risk without clear guidance on how it should be done.
Earlier, the Health ministry said the Finance ministry has only committed Shs10 billion out of Shs80 billion required to deploy pre-medical interns.
“We will be able to deploy once we have clear terms; when we are sure that there is money. It is until when Finance communicates [to the Health ministry],” Mr Ainebyoona said.
About the strike
The strike, management of hospitals said, has affected care for patients and increased the workload on the few doctors who were not striking.
The striking cadres include medical officers special grade, alias associate consultants, and senior house officers (SHOs) --qualified doctors who are training to become specialists while serving in public hospitals.
Specialist doctors, who are currently earning Shs6 million every month, up from monthly pay of Shs4.5 million in the previous year, were complaining that their salary was not enhanced to the required level of Shs11 million. While SHOs are striking over salary arrears for four to six months.
