Junior doctors are not employees of Ministry of Health

Junior doctors at the various government health facilities across the country are not employees of the Ministry of Health, the Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Dr Daniel Asare has said.

According to him, they are interns who have been posted to the health facilities by the Medical and Dental Council to complete a year’s training to adequately take responsibilities as medical doctors.

Mr Asare made these known Wednesday morning following threats by some junior doctors that they would vacate their posts over the non-payment of their salaries for 11 months.

On Tuesday, the junior doctors, numbering about 91, threatened to occupy the offices of the Controller and Accountant General Department (CAGD) from July 27 until they receive their salary arrears.

They claim they have not been paid since September 2014 when they began working at their respective hospitals nationwide.

Interns

But speaking on Joy FM, Dr Asare explained that, the junior doctors, 67 from the CCTH, “First, are not employees of the Ministry of Health. They are interns. House officers are doing internship with me for one year. So they were sent by the Medical and Dental Council for them to use their knowledge acquired and go through a structured programme with a log book to be able to finish.”

“We were asked to take them on board so that they don’t need to sit in the house and we gave them the assurance that every penny owed them would be paid by government.”

A recurrent issue

Dr Asare also noted that the issue of non-payment of salaries was a recurring one.

“This is not the first time. I did my house job in Korle Bu in 1990 and I got paid at 10 months. It is not something that is peculiar to this group,” he said.

He, however, noted that there was the need for a concerted effort to resolve the issue, adding that, the problem was due to structural failures on the part of the tertiary institutions, thus making it impossible for the junior doctors’ data to be captured in the Ministry of Finance’s database before the budget reading in November.

“Inputting for the process of salary payment begins with the medical school. HR has had a policy that before a doctor completes…two months before they finish the exams, the authorities of the university must submit their names to the Ministry of Health for them to seek clearance from finance,” he further explained.

Allowance

That notwithstanding, Dr Asare stated that management of the CCTH give the junior doctors some kind of allowance.

“Those who have been offered free accommodation, we give them GH¢350 for their pocket and for feeding which will not be deducted from their pay. Those who have their own house we give them GH¢500 cedis which will not be deducted from their money until such a time that government pays them their arrears,” he said.