The Uganda Medical Association, a body that brings together 8700 medical doctors in the country has called upon goveryto pay timely risk allowances for their members dealing with Ebola in Mubende.
The call come a day after a Tanzanian Dr. Mohammed Ali, succumbed to the virus.
“The Ministry of Health has not provided a clear compensation plan for health workers who are dedicated and risking their lives at the front lines in this tough battle against Ebola HVF, a disease with a very high fatality rate,” UMA said in a statement
According to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on the remuneration and incentives for health workers managing epidemics/pandemics, regular and timely health worker salary payments must be maintained.
In addition, WHO says remuneration should be commensurate with the duties performed, the working hours, and other factors, such as additional professional hazards.
“Additional allowances are required to compensate for risks and to minimize attrition. Lack of adequate and timely
payment of health workers has been a primary cause of strikes that severely affect the capacity of the healthcare system to respond to outbreaks and maintain the provision of essential health services,” they added.
“Its unfortunate that up to date, more than three years after medical colleagues who died due to Covid-19’s families have not been compensated despite the Presidential directives,” they added
Health workers, UMA said need to be trained formally in infection prevention and management of Ebola and this puts them at very high risk of being infected.
“Mubende Regional Referral Hospital, with the current Ebola treatment unit, is no longer a suitable environment for medical training, we are aware of the universities considerations to suspend the site for now, as a training site for senior house officers and we appreciate that. The medical interns who are deployed at Mubende RRH are agitated, inexperienced, untrained, and distressed after their colleagues contracted Ebola,” they said
UMA recommended that all health workers working in the Ebola treatment Units (ETU) should sign for and receive the risk allowances.
“The Ministry of Health should provide a plan for specialized medical care for health workers who get infected with EHVF, since they are critical to the control of the epidemic, in addition to the care of all patients and a clear compensation plan for health workers who may die in the line of duty,” it reads
Their statement comes a day after Justus Cherop, the president of the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union (UNMU) asked its members to never touch any Ebola patient unless the government gives them proper personal protective gear.
“Don’t touch any Ebola patient when you don’t have PPEs, we cannot afford to lose lives of health workers to Ebola-like it was for covid-19,” he said
Cherop, who was speaking to reporters about the State of Ebola in the country, reminded the government about how it frustrated the nurses during covid-19 and others ended up dying of the disease.
He also called upon the government to pay a group of frustrated special Covid-19 nurses and then redeploy them to fight Ebola.
Government through Dr. Diana Atwine the permanent secretary of the ministry of health terminated the contracts of these nurses even before paying their allowances after covid-19 cases went down.
After the outbreak of Ebola in Mubende district, which has since claimed five (05) people and infected more than 24 people, Cherop said that government should pay these people and benefit from their expertise.
“Covid-19 killed nurses and doctors none of their families have been compensated because even those who survived were fired before getting their allowances,” he said
“Government should pay these health workers and be fully paid before going back to Ebola. This should be a lesson to us all,” he added
Cherop said that government should also immediately look at the welfare of those nurses at the Sites of Ebola, and pay them responsible allowances, no nurse should die.
