Health Ministry Blames Budget Shortages and Personnel Gaps for Irregular Deployment of Medical Interns

The Ministry of Health has blamed its meager budget and a shortage of specialized personnel for the irregular deployment of medical interns.

Over the last week, a number of medical interns have taken to the streets calling for deployment. This is after a significant percentage were left out when the ministry sent deployment letters at the end of July. The interns, who also protested at the health ministry’s gate, have been asked to be patient.

While speaking to the press on Friday, Minister Jane Ruth Aceng decried the limited resources at their disposal. She also complained about the high cost of deploying a medical intern. Following their recent pay raise, each medical intern is entitled to a monthly gross salary of shs 1,300,000. With the Taxman taking off shs 300,000 of this, the interns net shs 1,000,000.

Therefore, the cost of deploying one intern for one year, inclusive of all taxes, is Sh 15.6 million. According to the Ministry, they can only afford to deploy 1,500 interns, leaving over 300 stranded.

Medical Interns are expensive – Minister

“Against this background, the Ministry can only deploy the cohort of 2023 and the previous years. This totals to 1,435 medical interns. For the remaining 65 positions available, priority will be given to dental surgeons (22), and the remaining 43 will go to government-sponsored pharmacists. Pharmacists are in short supply in the market in cohort 2024.” Minister Aceng said.

Similarly, Minister Aceng decried the short staffing levels of specialized personnel. During internship, every specialized doctor usually supervises four medical interns. This enables them to easily impart their skills to the students. However, this wasn’t the case last year, where the ministry deployed over 1,900 interns. The ratio of doctors to interns was disturbed, disrupting the learning process.

Minister Aceng also says this has contributed to the reduction in numbers deployed.

“We must consider facilities, budget implications, and the number of interns. Those who qualified before in the previous years and haven’t been deployed should be prioritized first.” Akiiri Keneth, Under Secretary at the Ministry of Health, said.

The medical interns have vowed to continue their advocacy until their concerns are fully addressed.