Doctors urged to be patient

Ggoobi said the Ministry of Finance has allocated sh22.6 billion in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year to cater for Senior House Officers’ salaries and money to pay medical interns.

The doctors who make up its umbrella organisation, the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), hailed the pledge over the weekend but urged that it be released quickly to allow for the quick and urgent deployment of medical pre-interns.

Speaking at an ACODE-hosted post-budget meeting, Ggoobi urged the medical community not to put undue pressure on the administration.

Early last month, Senior medical doctors undergoing postgraduate training at regional and national referral hospitals, announced their intention to put down their tools over non-payment of their remuneration by the government.

The doctors had previously gone on strike in March for three weeks due to the same issue. The Senior Medical Doctor’s Chief Resident, Dr. Robert Lubega, stated at a news conference on Sunday that Government lacked the will to pay their allowances.

The leadership attended a Parliamentary Health Committee meeting where they learned that the Ministry of Finance had allocated only sh10.2b to cater for medical interns and senior doctors’ allowances for the financial year 2023/24.

This represents a shortfall of approximately sh70b of the sh80.5b budget earlier proposed by the Ministry of Health to cater for all trainee doctors’ allowances.

Dr. Lubega argued that Government’s inability to pay their allowances shows a lack of will, especially as some doctors have not received any allowances since November despite working under deplorable conditions.