Doctors' Strike: We're Paying CONMESS —CMD

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The Chief Medical Director, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Prof. David Oke says the state government has already started paying doctors in public hospitals the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale Structure, CONMESS.

He said what the doctors were asking for was that House Officers should be paid teaching allowances as being done for House Officers in federal hospitals, adding that government could not afford to do this.

Addressing the issues at stake during a news conference yesterday at LASUTH, Ikeja, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, Oke said the government does not have the needed fund like its federal counterpart to pay House Officers teaching allowances.

“There are some House Officers we can’t pay teaching allowances. We are paying our doctors CONMESS. Government has limitation regarding funding,” he said.

The CMD said since the warning strike began, LASUTH had been making use of consultants to handle emergency cases, adding that there was no way the hospital could handle all cases since the doctors were on strike.

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According to him, in surgical emergency ward, general emergency and others critical areas, at least, two consultants were allocated to the departments.

He said cases that were not emergencies were not treated by the hospitals as the doctors on ground could not cope with the situation occasioned by the strike.

Oke added that cases that could not be handled by LASUTH were referred to two hospitals recommended by the management, such as Shepherd Medical Centre and Unity Hospital.

The doctors, under the aegis of Medical Guild, began a three-day warning strike on Wednesday. The strike would end today, while activities would commence in public hospitals on Saturday.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga

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