Health: Avoid statements that can affect industrial harmony – Doctor

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has urged the Federal Government and its appointees to stop making contradictory statements that could negate peaceful coexistence in the nation’s health sector.

Its President and Secretary-General, Dr Olusegun Olaopa and Dr Anthony Ude, respectively, made the plea on Friday in Ibadan.

They said this was based on the statements credited to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, that the Federal Government had fixed a seven-year tenure for doctors’ residency training.

It was also reported that the Federal Government had outlawed the private practice by government officials, especially the health workers.

Olaopa and Ude said that the Federal Government’s decision was ill-timed and a massive blow to efforts aimed at stopping the mass emigration of doctors.

“Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to the Honorable Minister of Labor and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige in the Oct. 17, 2018, online publication of the Nation Newspaper.

“The issues related to tenure of residency training, full salaries of doctors and some other allied health workers as well as sundry issues were raised.

“While we would just have ignored such unconfirmed reportage in the dailies, it is difficult to imagine that such purported statement would emanate from such quarters at a time that the country is suffering a major blow in such a sensitive sector.

“This is in form of massive professional brain drain, lack of facilities in government hospitals and non-affordability of the masses to basic
healthcare.

“The association will like to put on record that we have striven to maintain peace despite hardships which our members are currently facing due to unimplemented agreements and terms of settlements with the Federal Government.

“We advise agents of government to desist from making statements that could jeorpadise the fragile peace in the health sector,” they said.

NARD leaders also said that the pronouncement of the labour minister was contrary to the provisions of the Medical Residency Training Act, 2018.

“We wish to remind the Honorable Minister of Labour and Employment that unlike before, the residency training programme is now regulated by an Act of the National Assembly, Medical Residency Training Act, 2018.

“The tenure of this medical specialist programme is clearly stipulated therein.

“Therefore, the government should not contradict itself,” they said.

The leaders urged various agencies of government to honour the agreements reached with the doctors.

“For more than 20 years, medical doctors and dentists have suffered injustice in career progression and attendant underpayment of salaries in the public sector.

“This is a malady that we are making frantic effort to correct for doctors in the employment of many states’ government.

“Relative peace was restored in our public health institutions when the Federal Government realised this and corrected the injustice.

“May we remind the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment that industrial dispute is often a product of government dissimulation to workers.

“And, there is no gainsaying that none of our members is interested in any act that will bring untold hardship to our patients.

“It is our hope that the government is committed to same.

“We will like to remind the government that we will continue to render uninterrupted services to the ordinary Nigerian citizens who cannot afford the ostentation of overseas medical tourism.

“All parties, including the government, should remain law-abiding,” they said in a statement.