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Government orders interns to 'drop demands and report to work'
Medical Students of Busitema University protesting over the new policy on internship in Mbale Town on September 30, 2019. PHOTO BY MICHEAL WONIALA
What you need to know:
Dr Charles Olaro, the acting Director-General of Health Services at the Health Ministry says interns cannot dictate their own training curriculum.
The Ministry of Health has called upon all medical interns to report to the stations where they were posted instead of making excessive demands.
The call follows a series of complaints by medical interns under the Federation for Medical Interns, criticizing a move by the government to change the amount of time spent on rotation on each discipline.
Previously, interns spent three months on each discipline- Surgery, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics and Obstetrics. But in the new rotation, interns will spend six months studying two disciplines-one medical and surgical.
Dr Charles Olaro, the acting Director-General of Health Services at the Health Ministry says interns cannot dictate their own training curriculum.
“Let those who want to do internship go ahead and start. Those with complaints can wait until the government is able to afford all their demands and start,” Dr Olaro stated.
He added that the changes were recommended by Specialist Clinicians who train the interns. According to Dr Olaro, the change was made after discovering that some interns could not carry out simple medical procedures even after graduation. Some, he adds, did not even have the confidence to diagnose ailments and diagnose medicine.
“The trainers of these interns reported that most medical officers that had done their internship on the 3 months’ rotation method could not even conduct simple surgical procedures when posted to health centre IVs.”
Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Diana Atwine says the rotation across different disciplines is in the best interest of interns.
Riot police officers fire teargas to disperse Gulu University medical students protesting new internship policy on September 30, 2019. PHOTO BY TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY
“This is for their own good. They should welcome the change instead of complaining,” she said.
The medical interns have also asked the ministry to provide them with salaries on an appropriate scale because they do the lion’ share of work in health facilities. They want the government to pay them a salary of three million Shillings per month.
But according to the Ministry of Health, Interns can only earn an allowance to facilitate their apprenticeship and not salaries. Each intern is paid 700,000 Shillings monthly to cater for accommodation and meals during the one-year internship. This year, the government needs a total of 1,170 interns.
Police in different parts of the country were on Monday forced to fire bullets and teargas canisters to break demonstrations by the medical students protesting the new policy by the Health Ministry on the rotation of intern doctors
Police from Gulu Central police station on Monday morning fired several rounds of live bullets and tear gas canisters to disperse a demonstration by medical students/interns from Gulu University.
In Gulu, the interns who gathered at the faculty by 9am started a march to the RDC’s office where they handed their petition to a secretary and immediately gathered to match to Gulu referral hospital to serve a copy of the petition to the hospital director before they were intercepted by riot police.
The police officers fired tear gas and bullets in the air as they chased the students who ran towards Senior Quarters through the Golf course.
The interns are demonstrating in protest of the revised rotation system between the different disciplines from 3 months in each discipline to 6 months in only two disciplines- for the one year of internship.
Abdul Kiragga, one of the students said that they are against the new provisions for internship since it wastes their time studying other disciplines which are not certified at the end.
Police arrest one of the medical students who were protesting the new government internship policy in Kampala on September 30, 2019. PHOTO BY SHAMIM NATEBWA
In Kampala, police arrested four Mulago medical interns who were marching to Parliament.
In Mbale, about 50 medical students from Busitema University, who were marching with placards denouncing the new policy, were blocked by police at Eldima building on Republic Street opposite Mbale Central Police station.
They were on their way to the RDC’s office in Mbale District to handover their petition.
Mr Robert Tukei, the Elgon Region Police spokesperson said their protest was blocked because it was contrary to the Public Order Management Act.
"They have a good cause but didn't follow the right procedure; they did not notify police about the protest so that they can be granted permission,” he said.
