THE government yesterday withdrew the Medical, Dental and Allied Health Professionals Bill, 2016, to allow further consultations on the law that observers say would bring positive changes to health sector practitioners.
The bill that was scheduled to be tabled for third reading in the National Assembly yesterday morning and thereafter debated by legislators was withdrawn in ‘good faith’, according to the Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, the Elderly and Children, Ummy Mwalimu.
She said almost all stakeholders including health sector practitioners and the parliamentary committee on social development had agreed that the bill is an important step towards regulation of the health sector.
“The government has decided to withdraw the bill after some practitioners complained that they were not consulted and that they want some sections to be amended,” she told reporters outside Bunge.
The minister added: “Given that the government heeds advice from different people and is ready to listen to everyone, we saw it is wise to give it more time for deliberations.”
The act aims at transforming performance of health professionals like clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, clinical officers, assistant clinical officers, assistant medical officers and any other allied health professionals.
The bill which went through the first reading in Parliament in November last year if it becomes a law will see establishment of an independent medical council headed by a health professional.
The current council is under the chairmanship of government chief medical officer, causing displeasure among health practitioners who argue that as a government official, he or she cannot freely serve the interests of doctors.
She said the law will also state who is supposed to use the title of doctor, noting that at the moment even laboratory technicians, clinical officers, among others, abuse the title.
Mwalimu said that such anomalies are what some stakeholders want to be addressed; especially where and when assistant medical officers want to be regarded as doctors while the bill states that only those with at least an undergraduate degree would be allowed to use that title.
“The act is to help bring transformation among health practitioners since the current law is outdated and has left out several practitioners like specialised clinic owners, among others,” said the minister.
She added that the new law will uphold high level of professionalism, citing punishments for violation of the law and deregistration of unworthy practitioners.
The minister also noted that the increasing number of health practitioners calls for reviewed law to match the developments in the sector.
She said for instance in early 2000s the country was producing only 79 doctors per year while in 2014 it produced 742 doctors and over 1,000 doctors in 2015/16.
The country trained at least 143 assistant medical officers in the 2000s, a number that has grown to 183 per year. She also noted that there were 300 clinical officers then and 495 currently.
“Now we are talking about the law that will help guide over 5,000 doctors and about 2,899 assistant medical officers and 6,170 clinical officers in the country,” she added.
Giving his opinion, Kigamboni Member of Parliament, Fasutine Ndugulile said the envisioned law will help streamline the health sector, saying there are a lot of challenges that needs to be ironed out.
Ugandan socialite Zari is undeniably hot and Diamond Platnumz cannot be blamed for going kookoo for her, Besides her looks, she is also ambitious and rich. Born on 23rd of September 1980, Zari grew up in Jinja and after high school she moved Kampala where she performed karaoke in hang-outs. She later moved to London and acquired a diploma in cosmetology. She now lives in South Africa where she runs cosmetics shop while pursuing a career in music. She shared some of her never before seen photos from back in the day and she was still hot. Check her out
Post a Comment