By Julius Odeke

25^th July 2011:

Right: Dr Ondroa with hospital officials

MBALE – Despite attempts by the Minister of Health Dr Christine Ondroa to convince them not to press for high pay, the medical staff pushed forward with their demand for a salary pay rise of at least 3million shillings for every Doctor in the country.

In an exclusive interview with Uganda Correspondent at his office, the Principal Hospital Administrator for Mbale regional referral hospital

David Obol Otori said, “…all medical staff need to be well remunerated so that they don’t opt to open their own private clinics”.

Mr. Obol made the remarks on Friday morning [last week] shortly after Health Minister Dr Ondroa and the Japanese Ambassador to Uganda Kazuo Minagawa left Mbale after touring several projects that are under construction in the regional medical facility.

One of the projects being funded by Japan is the construction of a 3.1billion shilling storied block that will accommodate up to twenty four families of medical staff who are currently renting from the open market.  The plan for this block was conceived Mbale hospital administration.

Other than this residential building, Japan, working through its international development arm Japan International Cooperation Association (JICA) has also built an operating theatre, a maternity ward, and provided logistical support to Mbale hospital which included an ambulance and a standby generator.

JICA says its sole motive for helping out is to improve the quality of healthcare services and the working environment for hospital staff.  For that, JICA was thanked by Mbale hospital administration for its support to people in eastern Uganda.

Mr. Obol said that at the moment medical practitioners are not well paid and that it’s this that has forced many doctors and nurses to operate private businesses countrywide.  He added that if the situation is not checked by giving them high salaries, then the situation is likely to escalate.

“…In my own opinion, a newly qualified nurse should be paid a net pay of Shs1.5million and a newly qualified Doctor should earn at least Shs3million.  As soon as the government responds to the demand of the medical staff then everything will flow normally”, Mr Obol said.

He also revealed that at the moment, newly qualified Nurses earn as little as Shs300,000/= while newly qualified Doctors earn Shs600,000/=.  “…That cannot help them cope especially in these unbearable living conditions that most people are faced with today”, Obol added.

The demand by Doctors and other medical staff for a pay rise has come at a time when the government is facing similar demands from most civil servants with teachers in particular, as the lowest paid people in Uganda, demanding a pay rise of 100%.

While addressing Mbale regional referral hospital staff, Dr Ondoa had pleaded with the medics to give her the necessary support so that when she goes to meet President Yoweri Museveni, she goes with their support.  “…Please I need your support.  I have been moving around hospitals countrywide and those are the same demands medics are telling us.  I will represent your views when I meet him”; the Minister pledged.

Who is Dr Christine Ondroa?

Uganda Correspondent understands that Dr Ondroa was a medical superintendent in Mbarara district in western Uganda.  She is said to be a workaholic with great stamina and has to date not been tainted by the corruption scandals that have afflicted many of Museveni’s Ministers.  It was on the strength of that record, we understand, that several technocrats recommended her for appointed as Minister of Health.

Her mission is to spur and reinvigorate the deteriorating image of the Ministry of Health after it was hit by several corruption scandals involving the theft of Global funds for HIV/Aids and TB as well as several cases of drugs theft in the country’s major referral hospitals.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.