Resident doctors have issued a 10-day ultimatum demanding federal government to review agreements it reached last year to fund residency training for doctors and ensure a committee overseeing the training sits for the first time ever.
This comes after the leadership of the association began getting “feelers” from its members nationwide possible strike, which it has not ruled out.
National Association of Resident Doctors also listed at least seven demands it wants government to address in the next 10 days before its executives meet to “decide on the next course to pursue,” said NARD president Dr Jibril Abdullahi.
An emergency meeting of the association in Abuja noted dismay over “sudden and unwarranted removal of teaching allowances” from pay to some category of resident doctors; they also said some doctors have been denied call duty allowances despite taking more than 30 unpaid extra units of calls per month.
NARD accused federal government failure to adopt a single health care model to ease measurement of professional efficiency and reward was partly responsible for ceaseless competition for superiority amongst healthworkers.
Among its resolutions, it wants the federal health ministry to define roles and pay using accepted international best practices to “restore sanity in the health sector,” said Dr Abdullahi.
NARD lamented removal of rural posting allowances in institutions that have enjoyed it, calling it “surprising” since committees which determine rural centres are yet to sit.
It complained of “progressive deterioration” in welfare and training of resident doctors at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo and urged for urgent steps to reposition the hospital.
An MOU last October was to have seen the government implement an integrated payment system and consider the welfare of resident doctors at FMC, Owerri, but the association observed “lack of obvious progress” on the issues.
The association called on “well-meaning citizens to prevail on government to resolve these issues,” said Dr Abdullahi.
by Judd-Leonard Okafor
ABUJA: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
PORTHARCOURT: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
LAGOS: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
STOP paying for airtime and electricity, Let your phone pay its bills with ScreenT
You may also like
Lagos NMA Chairman Removed Over Alleged Constitutional Breaches, Femidire Elected as Successor
A leadership crisis has erupted within the Lagos State branch of the Nigeri…
Lagos Doctors Demand End to Police Harassment, Decry Rising Intimidation of Medical Practitioners
Medical doctors in Lagos have called on the Nigeria Police Force and other …
Babafemi Bows Out as Gbagada General Hospital MD, Calls for Sustained Health Sector Reforms
Concerns over the continuity of reforms in Lagos’ public health system took…
NARD Calls Off Strike, Resident Doctors Set to Resume Wednesday
Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, are expe…
World Health Day Marred by Fresh Doctors’ Strike as Nigeria’s Health Funding Crisis Deepens
Nigeria marked World Health Day this year under the cloud of a nationwide s…
