Doctors seek meeting with health minister over pay

The doctors made this revelation in a letter dated Wednesday, May 10 2023.

The UMA secretary general, Dr. Herbert Luswata, said they are seeking a meeting with the minister to discuss possible ways through which Parliament can approve a supplementary budget to cater for the correction of alarming salary discrepancies for the disgruntled health specialists.

In a phone with this reporter, Luswata said the association’s concern is that currently, the difference in pay between a medical officer with a Bachelor in Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery degree only and that of a specialist doctor with a Master’s degree plus additional subspecialist training is only 12.2%.

He added that the difference in salary between the specialist and a consultant is a whopping 102% and yet the two categories of specialist doctors have similar minimum qualifications with the only difference being the number of years in service.

This development comes at the backdrop of Ministry of Public Service revelation that Government has never received any communique about an ongoing strike by Special Grade Medical Officers (MOSG) over salary enhancement.

Early this week, specialised medical doctors announced that they would lay down their tools demanding for salary increment and change in their professional titles.

The specialists announced their strike will begin at 11pm on Tuesday, May 9 2023 and further vowed not to attend to any emergencies.

While addressing the media on Tuesday, May 9 2023, Dr Joel Kimera, a pediatrician at Mulago, said they want their titles changed to ‘associate consultant.’

Kimera argued that Government confuses them for low cadres and this has also affected how much they are paid in salaries.

The medical specialists said they have the same qualifications and responsibilities as consultants, yet there is a significant disparity in their earnings.