Mother spends 2 weeks weeding nurses' garden to clear daughter's medical bills
Written by URN
Margret
Iloku, 63, has spent almost two weeks weeding the ground nuts of nurses
at Princess Diana health centre IV in Soroti city after failing to clear
the medical bills of her daughter-in-law, Grace Acen who was admitted
to the facility after cesarean birth.
Iloku, a resident of Tukum in Soroti
district, eastern Uganda, arrived at the facility empty-handed expecting
free services at the government health unit. But on arrival, she was
asked to pay for the file that the facility gives to patients at Shs
3,000. As she was struggling to raise the money for the file, the nurses
asked for another Shs 20,000 to enable them to buy Jik detergent,
powder soap, and toilet paper - requirements for every expectant mother
in labour at the facility.
Iloku was stuck and resorted to
seeking help from fellow patient attendants in the ward. As she moved
around helplessly, she was told that some nurses in the facility have
garden work that needs labour. Iloku, who is also suffering from a joint
dislocation offered to work to raise money in order to access help from
the facility.
However, three days later, her patient failed to
push the baby, a condition that required a cesarean section. As Iloku
prepared the patient for an operation in the theatre, she was told to
deposit Shs 300,000 before the operation could proceed. Iloku had no
money, prompting the medics to delay the operation. She later managed to
raise only Shs 130,000 after making several SOS calls back home.
After
the operation, Iloku had to buy some drugs recommended by the medics to
ease pain and facilitate the recovery of the patient. This added to her
manual labour assignment in the garden to enable her to get the money
to pay the bills. By the time our reporter visited the facility, Iloku
was still in the garden, five days after her patient was discharged. She
told our reporter that she couldn’t go with the patient home since
there were still pending bills to be cleared.
Ilolu isn’t alone
in the struggle for health services at Princess Diana health centre IV.
Many other inpatient attendants who fail to pay for the service end up
in the gardens of health workers in the facility. Florence Awayo,
another patient attendant in the maternity ward also ended up in the
maize garden to one of the nurses to buy a file and waiver for the Shs
20,000 meant for Jik detergent, powder soap, and toilet papers.
Awayo’s
patient also had a cesarean section, for which she paid Shs 150,000.
She told our reporter that much as the patient was taken to the theatre
before the money was deposited, the medics threatened to kill her
patient in case she failed to pay the required fees.
Dr Alfred
Anyonga, the in-charge Princess Diana health centre IV says that he’s
not aware of the charges in the facility except in situations where the
anaesthetists are not available. He said that the facility doesn’t have
an anaesthetist, sometimes requiring services from the regional referral
hospital.
Princess Diana health centre IV has been on the spot
over extortion by the staff for some time. The outcry attracted the
interventions of the area Woman MP, resident city commissioner, and city
authorities last year.
Iloku was stuck and resorted to seeking help from fellow patient attendants in the ward. As she moved around helplessly, she was told that some nurses in the facility have garden work that needs labour. Iloku, who is also suffering from a joint dislocation offered to work to raise money in order to access help from the facility.
However, three days later, her patient failed to push the baby, a condition that required a cesarean section. As Iloku prepared the patient for an operation in the theatre, she was told to deposit Shs 300,000 before the operation could proceed. Iloku had no money, prompting the medics to delay the operation. She later managed to raise only Shs 130,000 after making several SOS calls back home.
After the operation, Iloku had to buy some drugs recommended by the medics to ease pain and facilitate the recovery of the patient. This added to her manual labour assignment in the garden to enable her to get the money to pay the bills. By the time our reporter visited the facility, Iloku was still in the garden, five days after her patient was discharged. She told our reporter that she couldn’t go with the patient home since there were still pending bills to be cleared.
Ilolu isn’t alone in the struggle for health services at Princess Diana health centre IV. Many other inpatient attendants who fail to pay for the service end up in the gardens of health workers in the facility. Florence Awayo, another patient attendant in the maternity ward also ended up in the maize garden to one of the nurses to buy a file and waiver for the Shs 20,000 meant for Jik detergent, powder soap, and toilet papers.
Awayo’s patient also had a cesarean section, for which she paid Shs 150,000. She told our reporter that much as the patient was taken to the theatre before the money was deposited, the medics threatened to kill her patient in case she failed to pay the required fees.
Dr Alfred Anyonga, the in-charge Princess Diana health centre IV says that he’s not aware of the charges in the facility except in situations where the anaesthetists are not available. He said that the facility doesn’t have an anaesthetist, sometimes requiring services from the regional referral hospital.
Princess Diana health centre IV has been on the spot over extortion by the staff for some time. The outcry attracted the interventions of the area Woman MP, resident city commissioner, and city authorities last year.
Medical interns arrested for protesting non-deployment
https://observer.ug/news/headlines/77541-medical-interns-arrested-for-protesting-non-deployment
Written by URN
Police on
Monday arrested over 30 medical interns who had attempted to march to
parliament in protest against non-deployment by the ministry of Health.
At least 30 internship sites were
supposed to have received new interns by April 1 but this has not yet
happened due to issues with the training process, which the ministry of
Health says is still consulting on. The interns contribute about 70 per
cent workforce in government healthcare centres and hospitals.
The
interns had planned to march into two separate groups, with one group
starting at the National Theater and the other at Mulago to proceed to
parliament. At least 20 were arrested from Parliamentary Avenue and
later detained at Kampala Central police station.
Others arrested
from Mulago were detained at Wandegeya police station. Dr Herbert
Luswata, secretary-general of Uganda Medical Association (UMA), said
that they had contacted their legal team to find out, which medical
interns had been arrested and to process their release on bond.
Dr Frank Asiimwe Rubabinda, president of
the Association of Surgeons of Uganda, stated that it is evident that
the government cannot handle the growing number of medical interns
graduating from the increasing number of medical schools.
The interns had planned to march into two separate groups, with one group starting at the National Theater and the other at Mulago to proceed to parliament. At least 20 were arrested from Parliamentary Avenue and later detained at Kampala Central police station.
Others arrested from Mulago were detained at Wandegeya police station. Dr Herbert Luswata, secretary-general of Uganda Medical Association (UMA), said that they had contacted their legal team to find out, which medical interns had been arrested and to process their release on bond.
