Regional referral hospitals across the country have experienced a big setback in the deliverance of medical care to patients as intern doctors lay down their tools over unpaid emoluments.
The interns in the category of doctors, pharmacists and nurses, who announced their intention to strike last week, are demanding salary arrears for three month.
In Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, there was no sign of intern doctors on duty apart from students from Soroti University who were seen attending to patients in the various wards as part of their study practical.
The Soroti Regional Referral Hospital director, Dr Ben Watmon, said the students from Soroti University were attending to patients as part of their usual training course.
“This is a teaching hospital for the university where the medical students are supposed to learn medicine,” he said.
Dr Watmon declined to comment on the strike.
One of the mothers at the hospital, Ms Jessica Asio, said she was waiting for the doctors to attend to her baby.
Dr Oscar Atwiine, the chairperson for intern doctors at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, there were 47 intern doctors at the facility who also joined the strike yesterday. He added that they were only attending to emergencies at the ward.
Dr Atwiine said they gave the Ministry of Health a three-day ultimatum to address their grievances, saying if the ministry fails to do so, they will also stop attending to emergencies.
“At this time I am supposed to be at the ward but we have decided to join our colleagues in a sit down strike,” he said.
Dr Atwiine said the Ministry of Finance released funds to the Ministry of Health but the latter delayed to pay the intern doctors, adding that by last quarter they were demanding one month salary arrear.
SOURCE: MONITOR