Shortage of Doctors Hits Mayuge District

An acute shortage of medical doctors in Mayuge has forced the district service commission to outsource for applicants.

The district council executive resolved to provide accommodation, transport and salary top up of shillings 100,000 to every doctor as an incentive to maintain them.

The resolution comes as a result of doctors leaving the district for more paying jobs elsewhere due to lack of basic incentives.

 

Last month, Dr. Paul Isiko, who was the District Health officer, left for a better paying job with the United Nations as Country Director in the fight against Tuberculosis. This left Mayuge district with only one doctor, Charles Nabangi.

 

Nabangi, who has been deputizing the District Health Officer, says it is a lot of work for one doctor to traverse the entire district. Mayuge district has six sub counties with 40 health units, 33 of which are government-owned, while seven are private.

Mayuge LC5 chairman Omar Daktur Bongo said the doctors’ houses are not in place and many of them fear being posted to Mayuge because the district has no transport and other incentives to work.

He said they are going to use part of the revenue and capacity building funds to take more medical personnel for further studies and improve their skills.

 

Kezekiel Ntale, Chairman Mayuge district service commission, says he has received two applicants for the vacant posts and says more are still welcome. He says interviews are scheduled for next week.

The current district population in form of medical coverage stands at 420,000.  Mayuge district was curved out of Iganga in 2000.

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