Dr Ekwaro Obuku, says doctors threaten to withdraw emergency services.

Uganda People’s Defense Forces and Uganda Prisons have so far failed to send a team of medical officers to Mulago, Kirudu and Kawempe hospitals to attend to patients.

As the doctor’s strike enters day twelve, people continue to flock government hospitals around the country seeking medical services with many ending up frustrated after failing to get help.

Over 1200 doctors are on strike and among them are specialized doctors such as cardiologists, urologists, and surgeons among others.

Under their umbrella of Uganda Medical Association (UMA), doctors laid down their tools to push government for better working conditions.

Government instead reacted by ordering them to report to work immediately or risk losing their jobs. The government through Health minister, Ruth Aceng, said UMA was not a registered workers union and therefore the strike organized under its name is illegal.

However, the doctors refused to head to the threats instead threating to withdrawal all emergency services. A multi cabinet committee was later instituted by Prime Minister, Ruhukana Rugunda, to meet and forge a way out with the doctors.

However, the meeting, organized on Wednesday at Statistics House hit a snag when government tried to plead with the doctors to return to work. The doctors insisted on their demands most importantly delivery of health equipment’s to hospitals in time, disbandment of the Health Monitoring Unit which the doctors accuse of witch hunting and a pledge by government to consider salary enhancements in the next financial year.

Since government could not heed to the doctors calls, it turned to the hard stance, ordering all striking doctors to leave hospital premises so that the army and other sister agencies could come in.

After the meeting held on Wednesday Aceng said she had notified President Yoweri  Museveni who authorized the ministry’s request to have doctors from armed forces deployed to attend to patients.

ALSO READ:Nurses and midwives distance self from doctors sue

However, since then, there are still no doctors from the forces providing health services at Mulago, Kirudu and Kawempe.

The UPDF spokesperson Brig Richard Karemire said that the army is still organizing logistics for the medical officers who are yet to be deployed. “UPDF plans to send medical personnel to beef up intern doctors who continue to handle emergency cases,” he added.

Brig Karemire says the UPDF will dispatch about 10 doctors and 20 nurses. “We cannot raise the number, we have a small team of about 10 doctors, they will come in to help the civilian doctors who are there working.”

Uganda Prisons has confirmed that they received a request from the Health ministry to deploy medical person in various hospitals. The spokesperson Frank Baine also said that the deployment of their medics “will happen anytime.”

He couldn’t specify the number of medics they will deploy. Baine says the prisons medical services department will look at its human resource before making a decision on the number to send. However, Uganda Prisons has only 10 specialized doctors.

Dr. Ekwaro Obuku confirmed the president will meet the doctors today as anticipated, the meeting is expected to bring to an end the strike, which has brought the ailing health sector to its knees.

President warns

While addressing a rally at Karambi sub-county grounds in Burahya county, Kabarole district, Museveni said the doctors are going to regret their actions of laying down tools. He warned that the doctors risk being sacked if they continue with the strike because his government is going to recruit new doctors.

ALSO READ:Health minister explains doctors strike

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Dr Obuku Ekwaro

The Uganda nurses and midwives union has disassociated themselves from the court application that was filed by Uganda Medical Workers Union against the striking doctors.

The union yesterday took all the striking doctors and medical practitioners to high court civil division for engaging into an illegal industrial action.

RELATED: Health minister explains doctors strike

The union also sued the Secretary General of the Uganda Medical Association Dr. Obuku Ekwaro and Workers MP Dr. Sam Lyomoki demanding for damages resulting from announcing a strike without following the prescribed legal procedures.

While petitioning the same courts, the General Secretary of UNMU says that the Uganda medical workers union only consulted them after submitting the petition so they were not part of that petition.

He however suggests that Social dialogue is the appropriate intervention that should be opted to address solutions to combat the challenges in health and also empower trade unions.

ALSO READ: Medical interns join doctors’ strike amidst government threats

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While appearing before the health committee chaired by Bukuya county Mp Dr.Micheal Bukenya to explain why they have failed to resolve the Doctors problems related to poor payment, Aceng said that the payment disparities to public servants is  making it difficult for the ministry of health to convince doctors to return to their work.

She said that the doctors think that government has money and is not willing to pay since other officers are highly paid citing the 13 billion shillings paid to MPS for consultation on age limit.

Aceng said that the doctor’s strike has not affected all health facilities, saying some are still functional and the ministry is continuing to push for negotiations to stop this strike which is affecting the health service delivery.

The chairperson of the health committee of parliament Dr.Mcheal Bukenya appealed to Doctors to return to their respective health centers as the salary review committee established by the president completes its report to be ready in two weeks’ time.

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Interns strike

In a meeting held today at Mulago, the interns led by their president, Robert Lubega, state that they are paid less, over worked, have no equipment to use while treating patients coupled with intimidation from the health ministry which they say have made their work very hard.

ALSO READ: Health minister explains doctors strike

Lubega confirms that they are not students and practicing to become real medical practitioners rubbishing the threats put against them by the state and declaring a strike effective mid night following 52% voting calling for the strike.

Humana rights lawyers Nicholas Opiyo, Moses Mulumba from CEHURD and Andrew Karamagi added a voice to the strike saying all workers be it interns or anyone else has a right to lay down his tools in case of any disagreement with their bosses.

Opiyo castigated government for bullying medics instead of attending to their demands which acts he termed illegal.

The interns believe the decision to lay down their tools is the only way their working environment will be made better.

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Health Minister Ruth Aceng demanded that doctors return to work immediately

The Leader of opposition in parliament, Winfred Kiiza, has warned government to stop forcing the medical workers who had resorted to strike to resume work before dealing with doctors’ demands to avoid more deaths.

ALSO READ: Health minister explains doctors strike

Kiiza said that government should order medical workers back to work after procuring all the medical supplies they are demanding to be available in government medical facilities across the country.

She asked the president not to brag about the government completed projects when the people who are intended to benefit from such projects are dying because of lack of drugs in hospitals and poor remuneration of medical workers.

She stated that they are tired of Ugandans dying without government responding to the cause of their death.

She noted that government allocated 1.8 trillion shillings for the financial year 2017/18 for health sector improvement but medical workers keep on striking and complaining of the inadequate medical supplies.

She demanded government to explain whether the donors have fulfilled their donation to the national health budget which might have caused the budget shortage leading to inadequate service delivery.

Doctors are now in the second week striking demanding for pay raise, and medical supplies used on patients.

RELATED: Committee to probe government unfulfilled pledges amid public servants strikes

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The vice chairperson of the government assurances committee who is also the MP for Kawempe North, Latif  Ssebaggala Sengendo said that they  need the speaker to allow them to meet the striking doctors, prosecutors and Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA) to ascertain progress of pledges made to them by government.

Ssebaggala asked the speaker to allow them come out of recess to consult with these agencies including the relevant ministries to in order to find solution to the problems professionals are facing at the government institutions.

He said that they cannot sit back when deaths are being report as a result of health workers strike.

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The President of intern doctors Dr. Faux Kavuma says at the moment they have no interactive because they have anything to eat and also their land lords are threatening to chance them from the houses which they are renting.

He says currently they are about 500 junior doctors rendering service in several government health facilities but none of them has been paid for the last three Month.

He says if government fails to pay them by tomorrow on Friday they will lay down their tools.

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