Lagos Health board, commission reverse doctors’ dismissal

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN has requested a review of the cases of Medical Doctors who were recently dismissed by the Lagos State Health Service Commission (HSC) and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), in line with the peace overtures made known yesterday.

Consequently, the authorities of both the state Health Service Commission and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) have decided to reverse the dismissal and give all the affected Doctors the opportunity to return to their duty post with immediate effect.

Returning Doctors are to liaise with the HSC or LASUTH authorities, as the case may be, for further directives and resumption formalities.

Earlier today, doctors had expressed some confusion over the gesture by government to recall all the 788 sacked doctors.

Some of the sacked doctors claimed they have not been informed over the development and accused the government of playing politics with the lives of the people.

Government officials seemed not to understand what the governor meant as they were caught unawares by the pronouncement of Fashola.

Chairman, Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote told P.M.NEWS this morning that the state government was yet to communicate to them the decision to recall them back to work, saying that the manner in which it was done was not acceptable to the doctors.

According to him, “we have not been recalled,” adding that the governor asked them to regularise their status with the Health Service Commission, HSC, meaning that they would be carrying the status of having been sacked from work.

Olumuyiwa stated emphatically that the issue of regularising their status with the HSC was not tenable and that they would prefer that the issue of the sack should be removed from their status.

“No government official has contacted us yet,” he said, saying that he called the Head of Service on the issue and that he was told to wait for further directive.

“Government is playing politics with the lives of the people. We are meeting today to decide the next line of action,” he said.

Lagos State Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Dr. Edamisan Temiye said: “we don’t know anything about the recall of the sacked doctors,” adding that government was yet to communicate with the doctors on the issue.

He said the government was being deceptive about the entire issue “just to see the doctors as irresponsible. Until we know where we are going, nothing will be done.”