Doctors under their umbrella body Uganda Medical Association (UMA) have rejected a proposal by the Ministry of Health to allow pre-medical interns who can afford to facilitate their own internship to apply for deployment.
The Ministry’s permanent secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine earlier today said the decision was reached upon following proposals by parents to allow those who can afford to apply for deployment to avoid further loss of time.
According to the UMA Secretary-General, Dr Herbert Luswata, the decision by the ministry is not only dangerous but is also discriminatory and will result in a drop in the standard of ethical practice including extortion.
He says the ‘ill-thought’ decision will yield inequality among future health workers and will also affect the quality of health service and outcomes of treatments.
Dr. Luswata says they cannot allow to have medical practice to be a preserve of the rich nor will they allow it to push health workers into healthcare slavery.
