The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Doctors under the Uganda Medical Association want government to recruit more health workers for regional referral hospitals.
According to the organisation, an assessment recently carried out revealed that many regional referral hospitals do not have enough enough doctors.The worst staffed hospitals according to the association include; Moroto, Arua and Gulu regional referral hospitals.
According to UMA, government only employs 68 percent of the required human resource. This according to doctors is not enough since many hospitals are forced to operate with no vital staff like anesthesiologists. Now the doctors want government to hire more specialists for Regional referrals.
Dr. Richard Idro, the president of UMA says that the situation in many regional referrals is worrying. “So many positions remain vacant. For example in Arua only nine positions out of 41 are filled, yet money earmarked for human resource is sent back to the treasury,” said Dr. Idro.
Dr. Mukuzi Muhereza, the secretary general of UMA says more human resources are required in the country. He says many health facilities especially in regional referrals upcountry operate with less than half of the required human resource.
According to health ministry 2017 figures, there are over 4,000 health workers who are employed by government.
According to Muhereza, while the country has more than enough doctors, few are employed in government positions.
Dr. Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary at the ministry of health says that they are working towards filling these positions.
“I met with the doctors and we are working towards addressing their grievances. We have been recruiting people for the different cadres and we hope soon there will not be any gaps,” said Dr. Atwine.
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