No pay for Kapchorwa COVID-19 frontline workers

Kapchorwa, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Health Workers designated to Manage COVID-19 cases at Kapchorwa General Hospital have worked for five months without pay. 

The health workers who include the nurses, doctors, cleaners and the burial teams last received their allowances in April and since then, the authorities have promised them payments in vain. Dr Ayubu Wangubo, the Kapchorwa General Hospital Medical Superintendent told URN that the health workers handling COVID-19 cases in the district have only been working on promises.  

“The last time the frontline health workers got risk allowances was in April when the government sent the 165 million Shillings for the district.  Since then, there has been nothing, but we have to convince them to continue working with the hope that the government will respond,” he said.     

Wangubo says that even the people assigned to bury the COVID-19 victims have never received any penny since they started burying people, despite risking their lives.

This comes after the suspension of activities in the six medical departments at Kapchorwa hospital after more than 50 of its employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The affected departments include the pharmacy, female ward, children ward, outpatient department, chronic care and male ward. Only the laboratory, maternity and theatre are partially functioning,  to attend to emergencies.

According to Kachorwa District Chief Administrative Officer Simon Peter Kandole, the hospitals in the district do not have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), enough testing kits, and risk allowance, yet the medics often interact with the community and other patients, while tracing COVID-19 contacts.

Anna Mary Muzaki, a nurse working in the COVID-19 treatment unit says that the health workers especially those on the burial team are demoralized.

Andrew Chemayek, a member of the hospital burial team says that they have tried to ask for their money from the concerned authorities in vein adding that the conditions under which they work are also not good since the protective gears are not enough. 

Yasin Sabila, another member of the burial team says that they have turned into voluntary workers adding that they are about to lay down their tools since they are not motivated in any way.         

Kapchorwa Hospital serves a population of more than 900,000 people from the areas of Bukwo, Kween, Bulambuli, Sironko and Bukedea, among others.

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URN