'Mulago interns' strike has not affected service delivery'

By Violet Nabatanzi

Authorities at Mulago National referral hospital have insisted that they will not provide accommodation for intern medical students because the hospital is currently under renovation.

This follows a seat strike by the intern students who claimed that they have not received their allowances for accommodation and feeding. 

Speaking in an interview at Mulago, the hospital's spokesperson Enock Kusasira said each medical student on internship is entitled to sh609, 329 monthly allowances and added that early this month government paid allowances to all the interns.

Kusasira said only twelve intern nurses did not receive their allowances and this is because some of them did not turn up for internship while others did not submit their Bank accounts.

Kusasira revealed that the strike has not affected health service delivery adding that the wards were functioning normally.

New Vision visited some of the wards including Accident and Emergency ward on 2B, diabetic ward, Neurosurgery ward and the health workers were busy treating patients.

One of the interns speaking anonymously said the interns are being treated unfairly and yet they treat majority of the patients.

Section 3.5 of the medical internship committee, states that medical intern students shall be provided with an allowance.

It further states that interns shall be provided with accommodation and utilities at or near training Centre.

"We report at work very early in morning and they expect us to leave after 11.00pm; one intern is expected to run three wards at ago," another intern student said.

The interns are usually assigned to work as auxiliary staff in each of the wards which include the obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics', surgery, general medicine, causality ward for accident and Emergency ward.

Some of the patients we interviewed said, they did not notice the strike because they got all the necessary treatment. By press time the caretakers of the patients were getting medicines from the hospital pharmacies .