Posted on: Wed 14-04-2021

Nigerian pharmacists have urged every healthcare professional body to join JOHESU in a rally at the National Assembly to protest all Acts of Parliament perceived as draconian and biased in favour of physicians with regards to appointments and other privileges.

The pharmacists who came under the auspices of Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) made the call on the heels of the World Health Day in the country alerted that there are unequal privileges promoted by greediness among healthcare professionals.

 In a statement weekend signed by Dr. Samuel Adekola, National Chairman and Pharm. Ambrose Ezeh, National Secretary alleged that the appointment in sector in favour of physicians has largely contributed to the worsening health indices and called for appointment on merit. 

ACPN was further worried that the inequities leads to poor healthcare delivery to Nigerians which is the bane of the country’s negative health indices.

The statement  partly reads, “We at ACPN therefore call on all the progressive minded professional bodies to join forces with Joint Health Sector Union, Nigeria (JOHESU), Civil Rights Societies and other patriots to form a workable coalition force which must immediately carryout the under-listed activities.”

“Stage a unity rally to the National Assembly to draw attention of parliamentarians to the need to redress all Acts of Parliament which gives exclusivity to Physicians in terms of appointments and other privileges.

“We at Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN have continued to critically evaluate the Nigerian Health space and we are driven by a strong conviction that greed and avarice have encouraged an inequitable spread of privileges and resources (wealth) of players in the Health System to the detriment of consumers of health who are short-changed by the Government and providers.”

In the statement titled, “We Must Save the Health System in Our Country Now,” Adekola insisted that appointment by merit is the way forward to restore the ailing health sector.

He said, “This is because our observation confirms that the biggest contribution of physicians to our health system remains the very popular negative health indices, which is the trademark of our declining and almost disgraceful health system. There is no better time than now to have appointments in Nigeria’s health sector liberalised to give room for meritocracy,” Adekola told the NAN.

The ACPN Chairman lamented that the actualisation  of the country’s National Health Policy and National Drug Policy is threatened by poor healthcare service administration led by physicians.  

He says, “All the goals and objectives of both the National Health Policy and National Drug Policy which centres on accessibility, affordability, safe and efficacious health care services and credible drugs supply system have may never be met because of the shoddy and irresponsible manner we have adopted in running our health system.”

Health Sector Appointments Negates Global Practices

The ACPN boss highlighted what it described as “the glaring ineptitude in our health system” under certain subject matters and stressed that appointments in the sector lacked merit against global practices.

He said, “As against international best practice that hinges on the philosophy of meritocracy  which allows for selection base on merit and competencies, it is unfortunate that Nigeria   Physicians (Medical Doctors) and their umbrella body have blackmailed and as well as intimidated successive administrations in Nigeria at the Federal and many States levels.  

“They continue to insist that Appointments as Minister of Health and Commissioners for Health  as well as those of Permanent Secretaries remain the birthright of Physicians without any trace of backing in the relevant statute books.

“The scenario is same with all appointments into the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) at Federal and State levels with deleterious consequence on Public Health outputs in Nigeria. It should interest observers that all appointments into prime MDAs in Health sector.”

He said, “NHIS, NPHCDA, NACA, NCDC, Essential Drug List Committee and all special Health intervention programmes including National Malaria Control, Tuberculosis Control, Leprosy Control etc are dominated by Physicians in Nigeria.

The ACPN Chairman also noted that all heads of all public hospitals at both State and Federal level are led by physicians, pointing out that this is against global practices.

His words, “Whereas at the international fora and other saner climes, positions of leadership are based purely on merit, skill, and competencies. A quick example is the current Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus an Eritrean-born Ethiopian biologist and public health researcher.”

He bemoaned, “The unfortunate scenario in our Country is a carry-over of the conqueror mentality imposed on all health workers by Physicians by the obnoxious Decree 10 of 1985 which has now metamorphosed to the University Teaching Hospital Act CAP U15 LFN 2004.

He elaborated, “Decree 10 of 1985 was the tool of oppression created by Late Professor Olikoye Kuti in the Military era anchored by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.

“It was Decree 10 of 1985 that reversed the gains of the fruitful headship of Health Administrators in Federal Health Institutions (FHIs).”

However, he further lamented that Decree 10 of 1985  replaced the FHIs headship with Physicians as Chief Medical Directors, Medical Directors, Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Head of Clinical Services.

Adekola said their numerous deputies in all Health Institutions across board at State and Federal Levels were also physicians. 

“The domination is extended to even appointments into the Boards of Managements of the various Federal Health Institutions where about 8 out of 13 slots are permanently reserved for Physicians at the detriment of consumers of health,” he added.

Allotment of Privileges in the Health System

On his part, Pharm. Ezeh while alleged oppression by the MDCAN against other healthcare workers, decried the actions, noting that this was enforced by the Yayale report.

The ACPN scribe said, “The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and its major appendages including MDCAN as well as NARD have never hidden their extremely strong resolve to trample over other health workers.  In the closing stages of the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency, Physicians under the aegis of their multiple platforms manipulated a vulnerable and ill-informed Yayale Panel which made the recommendations.”

According to Ezeh said that the Yayale report recommended that all existing professional regulatory councils in the Health Sector be scrapped/merged to become a Central Regulatory Agency to be led by Physicians.

It also recommended that no profession in healthcare will be structured to run along doctorate inclination. 

“In apocalyptic terms, these Physicians barred the NUC from recognizing the Pharm. D Programme for Pharmacists, O.D for Optometrists, Doctor of Physiotherapy for Physiotherapists and similar academic layouts.

“The Yayale Report also ruled that there was no need for specialization programme or consultant cadre for any other profession in the health sector apart from medicine contrary to international best practices.

“Tragically, the Yayale Ahmed Panel also rationalised the age-long scheming of Physicians to subsume Medical Laboratory Scientists under Pathologists, Radiographers under Radiologists and Optometrists under Ophthalmologists.  This effectively erodes the autonomy of the listed professions in Nigeria.

“Today as it stands when these serial violations failed with the implementation of the Yayale Ahmed Report, the MDCAN has rushed to the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking reliefs to bar the National Assembly from enacting Acts of Parliament to regulate the plethora of health professions in Nigeria, while also praying that the Office of the Head of Civil service of the federation be stopped from drawing up the schemes of service for all cadres of health workers.

“The only reason for the court process is that MDCAN seeks to take over the roles of NASS and the HOCSF by regulating all the professions and cadres in healthcare in Nigeria” Ezeh added.

Unethical Practices In Responsibilities  

The ACPN also alleged, “The desperation to sustain the unhealthy status-quo in the health sector has gotten to a climax of the absurd.  A case in hand is the connivance of the Federal Ministry of Health not to allow the rule of law prevail despite several court rulings affirming the autonomy of Medical Laboratory Science and the jurisdictional competence of Medical Laboratory Scientist to prevail in clinical laboratories.  Desperate Physicians and Pathologists will not let this see the light of day.

“At a recent public hearing at the Senate, the NMA and other groups of Physicians tried to impose provisos into the MDCN Amendment Bill, 2020 by trying to cede powers to head clinical diagnostic laboratories to Pathologists and Radiologists against known tenets of Good Health Practice.

“More provocative were attempts by Physicians to annexe the statutory and professional responsibilities of Pharmacists to dispense medicines legitimately in the Health System.”

The ACPN National Secretary told Daily Independent that his association is demanding collaboration under the leadership of all health workers to resolve the long standing Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) case at the court.

He said, “All Health Workers and their leadership must convey a roundtable discourse to strategise on how best to tackle the lingering MDCAN suit at the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja which is the highpoint of the many years of insulting our intelligence as care-providers in Nigeria.

“The roundtable must also come up with an agenda for a robust Healthcare delivery system in Nigeria in the best interest of our people.”

“Finally, we must serve a final notice of a new-found determination to reject slavish and servile mentality in our fatherland because we are freeborn,” ACPN concluded.

Source: independent

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