COVID - 19: Uganda’s Medical Interns Unable to Travel to Hospitals

Several hospital attendants including medical interns have failed to report to work since yesterday following a ban on public transport as one of the measures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID -19).

The ban on public transport was announced by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on  Wednesday this week. President Museveni noted that the ban would affect taxis, minibuses, buses, train, Tuk-Tuks and all Boda-bodas. The Boda-bodas were restricted to only carrying goods. 

However, since the suspension of public transport, major hospitals that have been utilizing the services of medical interns are hit hard as the majority of interns are yet to find transport means to report to work.  

Medical interns under their umbrella Federation of Uganda Medical Interns (FUMI) say they can no longer go to work following the temporary banning of public transport.

Dr. Luswata Herbert, the FUMI chairperson welfare has cautioned the medical interns against attempting to use Boda bodas, citing that there were cases of being attacked or beaten by law enforcers.  

“If you must work as an intern and you have no accommodation on site and you are staying very far from the internship site, don't risk being beaten when using Boda-bodas. Request the hospital administrators to provide safe transport means (a car or ambulance) to enable you reach work and home safely,” says Dr. Luswata in his communication to interns today.

Dr. Luswata, who is also one of the 41 medical interns attached to Kawempe Referral Hospital says the medical interns are part of the front-line health workers in almost of all the busiest national and regional referral hospitals who need special consideration and protection in such emergency times.  

He discloses that already there are ongoing sit down strikes in Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital, Jinja Regional Referral and Mbale Regional Referral due to lack of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).  

“As its recommended by the World Health Organisation that Doctors and other health workers be allowed to exercise their right to withdraw from a work station which poses serious danger to Health, if they lack adequate Personal Protective Equipment. We hope the concerned hospital administrators provide these PPEs so that the interns can continue with their work,” says Dr. Luswata. 

“It’s a tough situation that we have due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage the intern doctors, nurses and pharmacists to stay calm amidst this pandemic, and not to panic. Because panic can lead to errors which can lead to transmission of the infection to self, and colleagues. It’s unfortunate that colleagues 'Doctors' in Italy lost their lives in the fight,” Dr. Luswata.  

At Hoima Hospital, URN has established that a total of 38 intern Doctors, nurses and pharmacist are not working currently because of lack of personal protection gears. Although 15 are accommodated around the hospital, 23 are not accommodated and lack transport means.  

At Mubende Hospital, a total of 35 medical interns (including Doctors, Nurses and Pharmacists have been affected by lack of transport means. The interns body says they stay far from the hospital and have been unable to report to their duty stations due to the ban of public transport.  

Dr. Samuel Kigula, the FUMI president says the interns are health professionals working under supervision, and that they have never encountered a situation of highly contagious and infectious pandemic as COVID-19.  

He says following the presidential directives, the national governing committee of the medical interns in their virtual meeting resolved that; “all interns should be taken through a series of CMEs (Continuous Medical Education) about the disease to empower the knowledge and skills in managing such conditions.”  

Dr. Ekwaro Obuku, the immediate past president of the Uganda Medical Association, a professional industry association that champions medical doctors' interests in the county told URN in a phone interview that UMA has already received notice that the presidential directive to shut down public transport has largely affected key resource persons in fighting the epidemic.  

“For example health care professionals who are in the front line should have waiver for taxes on cars for them to buy. For us as Doctors we had requested the president long time ago about four years ago on vehicles. This could have been the time when we would have had our personal vehicles,” says Dr. Obuku.  

He argues that medical interns are still earning pea nuts (approximately 756,000 shillings) per month which Dr. Obuku says cannot sustain them to commit to their work. He says government should rethink its position against medical interns, who according to him are the front-line soldiers in the fight against such diseases.  

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Dr. Obuku wants the interns’ monthly remuneration increased to at least Shs.3million to prevent such scenarios.  

“Maybe they would have bought themselves vehicles. So that is something that we are still waiting for the ministry of health to handle. We appeal to the president to revise his stance and allow for certain case by case for instance soldiers, policemen, healthcare professionals, nurses, midwives and others on public transportation,” says Dr. Obuku.

According to Dr. Obuku, even when medical interns are not directly involved in the treatment of Coronavirus, they are critically needed in hospitals to handle other key health concerns.  

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