Intern doctor arrested for soliciting bribes from patients


What you need to know:

  • Mr Benzy Omoya, the Soroti Hospital Principal Hospital Administrator described the action of the intern doctor as an abuse of the work ethics.

Police in Soroti are holding an intern doctor for allegedly soliciting money from patients at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital.

According to the Soroti DPC, Mr Twaha Buyinza, the intern doctor was arrested Thursday morning after a tip-off from one of the patients.

The suspect is a third-year student at Soroti University and has been practising medicine at Soroti Hospital.

Mr Buyinza said until Thursday, cases of medical officers soliciting money from patients had become rampant at the facility.

“We found the suspect with Shs148,000 that he had allegedly collected from different patients who had come to seek medication at the diabetes unit,” he said.

Mr Benzy Omoya, the Soroti Hospital Principal Hospital Administrator described the action of the intern doctor as an abuse of the work ethics.

The arrest comes at a time when Soroti regional referral hospital is grappling with drug shortages as a result of the failure by National Medical Stores (NMS) to supply adequate medicines to hospitals and health centres across the country.

Soroti City RCC, Mr Peter Pex Paak, encouraged patients and their caregivers to always report the errant medical officers who solicit bribes in order to work on them.

“Medication at government facilities has to be free, and anyone got taking money from patients will be arrested,” he said.