The doctors were speaking shortly after Dr. Ivan Kisuule, the Acting Deputy Registrar of the Council revealed to them that starting 2023, doctors who are registered as supervisors of health facilities will be required to sign a commitment letter that they will be full time employees of that facility and that they should have had full registration with the council for at least three years. He said the new directive comes after piling complaints that health facilities are ill managed as supervising doctors are either moonlighting in other facilities or have just given away their certificates to be used by individuals who don’t qualify.
Doctors supervising
health facilities have expressed concern over lack of a uniform pay when they
assume supervisory roles saying they are most times exploited.
The doctors
who were attending a Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council (UMDPC) meeting on Wednesday
to discuss renewal of annual practicing licenses suggested that the council should
set minimum payable fees to doctors who assume supervisory roles.
The doctors
were speaking shortly after Dr. Ivan Kisuule, the Acting Deputy Registrar of the
Council revealed to them that starting 2023, doctors who are registered as
supervisors of health facilities will be required to sign a commitment letter
that they will be full time employees of that facility and that they should
have had full registration with the council for at least three years.
He said the
new directive comes after piling complaints that health facilities are ill
managed as supervising doctors are either moonlighting in other facilities or have just given away their certificates to be used
by individuals who don’t qualify.
//Cue in:”
We have noted …..
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commitment letter."//
However,
doctors say these roles come with uncertain pay. Responding to these concerns,
Dr. Peter, the Executive Director Bugolobi Medical Center and a Representative
of Private Providers said the issue of pay shouldn’t be directed to the council
but rather Uganda Medical Association (UMA) whose mandate is to advocate for
health workers’ welfare.
He says the
challenge is the association has no legal mandate to effect these changes, a
reason they have been pushing to have UMA turned into a legally recognized Uganda
Medical Society like it is for the pharmacists and lawyers.
On his part,
Prof. Joel Okullo, the Chairman of the Council says they have previously tried
to solve the issue of fees by involving both the association and the Insurance
Regulatory Authority but they have so far been unsuccessful.
To get the
mandate of setting fees, Prof. Okullo says they would need to amend the Medical and
Dental Practitioners Act.
