Intern doctors have warned government that failure to re-deploy them back to work, will lead to critical shortage of doctors and a subsequent decline in health care quality. They sounded the warning this afternoon while speaking to journalists in Kampala, about their new pressure group dubbed the Un-Deployed Intern Pressure Group.
The warning comes two days after security personnel blocked a group of medical intern doctors from matching to parliament as they protested their delayed deployment to different health facilities for training. The interns from the different universities in the country had intended to present their petition to the speaker or her deputy Thomas Tayebwa.
According to Joseph Odon Socrates, one of the interns, their actions were provoked by failure to get response from parliament after writing to them requesting for an opportunity to be heard. He said “Even yesterday we wrote to them requesting to sit in the gallery but all was in vain.”
Prior to the attempted match to parliament, the intern doctors had attempted to demonstrate outside the Ministry of Health head offices in Kampala still demanding for their immediate deployment, but were barred by security operatives to enter inside.
According to Dr. Herbert Luswata, President Uganda Medical Association, the interns had met with the ministry officials earlier in the week, only to find that most of them were not in the deployment list. Members of Parliament have since weighed in on their grievances, insisting that government must find money to deploy them without any discriminations.
“In the interest of continuity, let us find UGX 18billion. Let us look into classified budget even if it means getting the money from State House” said Mawogola South MP Goretti Namuga, on August 7, 2024. Other legislators including Bungokho North MP Magolo John Faith and Ibanda North MP Xavier Kyoma, advised government to brigh a supplementary budget to address the problem.
Ministry of Health is currently coordinating with the Ministry of Finance and Education to figure out a solution to the problem of interns.
Joselyn Nakitto is a staff writer at SML News Ug with passion in health, business, and current affairs. She can be contacted on 0709603158
