As the medical doctors’ industrial strike enters day two, doctors in some health facilities in different parts of Kampala on Monday showed up for work despite a nationwide strike announced by their umbrella body, the Uganda Medical Association.
The doctors went on strike after the government failed to meet their demands and fulfill their past promises like filling more than 40 percent of the vacant posts in public health facilities, increasing the pay of intern doctors to 2.5 Million Shillings as directed by the President.
They are also demanding compensation of the families of health workers who succumbed to COVID-19 and to provide medical supplies like oxygen in health facilities and including medical interns and senior house officers on the public service salary structure.
However, some doctors disregarded the strike by showing up for work on Monday and were seen attending to patients at different hospitals.
doctors on different wards of Mulago National Referral Hospital were found attending to patients as well as at Kiruddu Referral Hospital and Kawempe Hospital.
The doctors argued that they had to work to avoid punishment that comes with missing work.
Other health workers were seen on vaccination drives in Luwero town and Katikamu sub-county in Luwero district.
The health workers said that although they support the cause of the strike, they feared participating because they could be reprimanded by the district authorities.
But at some health facilities, despite the administration insisting that all their staff and show up for work, the absence of doctors was evident.
At Kawempe National Referral Hospital, no doctors could be seen at the hospital and many patients said that they were stranded because there were no doctors to attend to them.
At Kisugu Health Center, only nurses were seen working and this was the same at Kisenyi Health Center IV.