At the closure of the 2-day wellness clinic organized by Mulago National Referral Hospital, 70year old Lwoga Ahmed a resident of Nakaseke district cautioned the Minister of ICT Chris Baryomunsi on the recent harsh treatment of intern doctors
by Police.
“These doctors turned into our guardians when they raise voices over their issues, devise polite means as government to settle them. When Police teargas doctors, we the patients suffer more because they can’t provide to us preferred health services afterward” Mr. Lwoga highlighted.
Confident Lwoga also proposed to the Minister that instead of the government injecting money into the Parish Development Model (PDM), they should divert it to health because lately, the public needs better and affordable health services which
is lacking.
“When the public is healthy they will be able to work and earn a living, the PDM money hasn’t helped us yet because it’s a few NRM cadres who benefit from it, but when it’s diverted to health, we all benefit” he asserted.
On the other hand, Mzee Lwoga who had complications in his throat and intestines praised the hospital for this open day because he had lost hope due to the high charges of curing his disease. He however called upon doctors to attend to them all
and not abandon them.
In his reply, Baryomunsi highlighted that some actions of the Police surprise them as Government but he assured them that soon they will seat down the Police’s top management and advise them on how they should handle some situations.
“The Police needed to provide security to the interns while taking their petition to Parliament, but instead they were harshly arrested and put on patrols in a disrespectful manner, we have come to realize that some officers may be against
government” Baryomunsi noted.
On the issue of diverting PDM money to health, Baryomunsi said that although they acknowledge that a lot more has to be done in the health sector, PDM is also necessary because a lot of Ugandans are bad off and they need this money to uplift their wellbeing.
In his remarks, Dr. Charles Ayume the chairman of the Parliamentary health committee noted that as Parliament they associate and feel the pain of the interns and they are doing whatever is in their power to solve the current crisis.
“When the interns delivered their petition last Monday, the speaker wrote on it in bold for the attention of the health committee, and it was added to the many items on the budget cycle, there is no health committee better than ours, I promise you
we shall solve this problem” Ayume noted.
Ayume also said that they are aware of the need to complete the construction at the hospital and he assured that they are working hard to secure funds for them this financial year in order for ROKO to finish the construction.
“Also with the current resource envelop, we want to start on the construction of doctors housing units this financial year, out of the 150 units we want to at least construct 50 as we continue mobilizing more” Ayume added.
In her remarks, Dr. Byanyima Rose Mary the Executive Director of Mulago Hospital thanked the members of the public who turned up for this wellness clinic and she asked the government to increase the funds they’re given because they have a
justification.
“In this wellness clinic we have received 1,238 clients, but what we realized is that TB is still there in the general public and members need to be more vigilant about it” Byanyima added.
The E.D. was also bothered by the poor health-seeking habits amongst men as only 69 males were registered on the first day compared to a total of 594 clients.
As a way of giving back to the public, Mulago National Referral Hospital joined this year’s Labour Day celebrations by conducting a free 2-day wellness clinic for both adults and pediatrics at their premises in the capital Kampala.
