Health Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi has told Parliament that government has deployed eligible medical interns to accredited hospitals but accused unnamed "external forces" of encouraging them not to report for duty.
Baryomunsi said interns were expected to report to their assigned facilities between August 3 and August 14 as government continues consultations over their welfare and the implementation of new policy measures affecting internship.
The minister said he had personally held a six-hour meeting with representatives of the interns to address their concerns.
According to Baryomunsi, government recognises that the interns have genuine welfare concerns but maintains that they must complete the mandatory internship before they can become fully licensed medical professionals.
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The minister, however, suggested that the continued refusal by some interns to report was not entirely their own decision.
He told MPs that "external forces" were advising the young doctors not to report to their assigned facilities, although he did not identify the individuals or organisations he was referring to.
Baryomunsi's remarks came as the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) escalated its support for the interns, giving government 14 days to resolve the standoff or face industrial action.
UMA is demanding, among other things, a monthly internship allowance of Shs4 million and guarantees that all eligible interns will be deployed to accredited training sites.
The association has also backed the interns' decision not to report until government provides clear assurances on their welfare.
Baryomunsi also pushed back against arguments that interns are indispensable to Uganda's health system.
He said internship is primarily a period of supervised professional training and that graduates must complete it before they can practise as fully licensed doctors.
The minister rejected claims that Uganda's health system is entirely dependent on interns, pointing to health facilities that continue operating without them.
While interns provide clinical services under supervision, government maintains that they should not be treated as substitutes for permanently employed health workers.
The distinction comes against a backdrop of significant staffing shortages, particularly in public health facilities.
At the centre of the current standoff is the implementation of the National Education and Training for Health Policy, which has triggered concerns among medical interns over their financial support during the internship period.
Interns argue that reporting to hospitals without clear and predictable financial facilitation would leave many unable to meet basic costs, including accommodation, transport and meals.
Government, meanwhile, is seeking to balance the welfare concerns with the cost of supporting the internship programme across the country.
Baryomunsi said government acknowledges the concerns raised by the interns and that consultations are ongoing.
He told Parliament that government expects to conclude the consultations and present its final position next week.
The patient caught in the middle
The dispute comes at a sensitive time for Uganda's public health system, where staffing shortages continue to affect service delivery.
UMA says 2,417 eligible medical interns are awaiting deployment, while Parliament has also raised concerns about staffing levels at public hospitals.
At Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital, for instance, legislators have raised concerns that the facility is operating at only about 21 percent of its required staffing structure.
The absence of interns could therefore add pressure to health workers already operating in understaffed facilities.
However, government insists that the internship programme should not be confused with the country's permanent staffing needs.
The latest developments leave government with a narrowing window to resolve the dispute.
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On one side are medical interns demanding clarity on their welfare before reporting to hospitals. On the other is government insisting that deployment has already taken place and that the graduates must complete their mandatory internship to progress into full professional practice.
UMA's 14-day ultimatum has added another layer of urgency, with doctors threatening industrial action if their demands are not addressed.
For the interns, the question is whether they can afford to report without guarantees on their livelihood.
For government, it is whether it can resolve the welfare concerns without creating a financial commitment it cannot sustainably fund.
For patients, however, the concern is whether the continuing dispute will translate into fewer health workers available to provide care in already stretched public hospitals.
With government promising to return with a final position next week, attention now turns to whether the consultations can produce a compromise before the dispute develops into a wider confrontation between government and Uganda's medical profession.
