KAMPALA –Doctors supervising health facilities in the country have expressed concern over lack of a uniform pay in their salaries. The medics, who insist that their services are abused, want government to regulate their monthly pay.
The doctors were on Wednesday, meeting under Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council – UMDPC organisation to discuss the renewal of their annual working licences.
Speaker after the other suggested that their council should set a minimum payable fee to doctors who assume supervisory roles.
The doctors were reacting to their senior, Dr Ivan Kisuule – the acting deputy Registrar of the Council, who had revealed that starting 2023, medics registered as supervisors of health facilities would be required to sign a commitment document requiring them to serve as full time employees of that facility; in addition to showing proof of associating with the council for at least three years.
Dr Kisuule said that new directive was one of the measures of countering numerous complaints pointing into the direction that health facilities were poorly managed – because supervisors were either absenting themselves from duty or hired their certificates to other non-qualified individuals.
However, doctors claimed that the said roles were vague because of lack of uniformity in the pay check.
Dr Peter, the Executive Director of Bugolobi Medical Centre, who doubles as the representative of Private Providers at the council advised his colleagues to address their grievances to the right forum – the Uganda Medical Association – UMA, whose mandate is to advocate for health workers’ welfare.
He said that the only challenge, which UMA faced was the lack of a legal mandate to effect these changes – politicising that it was one of the reasons many were pushing for the birth of the Uganda Medical Society.
Prof Joel Okullo – the Council’s head narrated how his body had on several occasions fronted the doctors’ concerns in vain, saying that the only reaming option was amending the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act.
