Health Minister Dr Aceng orders Masindi CAO to pay nurses their risk allowance

The Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has directed the Masindi district Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the District Health Officer (DHO) to pay Masindi hospital nurses their risk allowance.

While meeting the Masindi COVID 19 response team at the Country Inn Hotel on Wednesday, Dr Aceng said the hospital nurses are at the forefront of fighting the pandemic and should be paid their allowances to cater for their families.
“Remember these people are not at home, as the President directed, they sleep at workplaces and would want to use the money at their homes,” Aceng said.
The nurses on Tuesday laid down their tools protesting the lack Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) while dealing with people under quarantine.

“All we want are personal protective gears and we go to our duties,” Ms Doreen Bahumuza, a nurse at the hospital said.
The medical workers also said they want the isolation ward of the quarantined people relocated to a distant location because the male ward which is currently used is in the middle of the hospital and yet the quarantined persons keep loitering everywhere.
Dr Aceng said the money received at the district should be spent according to the guidelines and the hospital nurses are entitled to a risk allowance on a daily basis thus directing the CAO to pay the nurses their risk allowances.
“Mr CAO, pay that money to these nurses on time and let the nurses have the need for their money,” Dr Aceng said.
However, the quarantined persons expressed concern about the congestion in the hospital and how they are also sharing basins.
Dr Aceng said the government will provide the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to the nurses by Thursday.
“The nurses were today morning given masks only one mask each to resume their duties,” she said.
According to Dr Aceng, Uganda has carried out the largest number of tests in the East African region of 441, 011 tests and currently has 35, 000 lists in the store.
Currently Masindi has 123 people under quarantine. This was after a police officer who drives a water truck in Masindi tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, forcing all occupants of the Masindi police barracks to be quarantined.
According to Masindi Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Mr Bahebwa Longino, who is also heading the district’s Covid-19 response team, the police officer was tested through the ongoing public survey by the ministry of health in Masindi, Bulisa, Hoima and Ntoroko districts.