Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, has blamed incessant strikes in public hospitals in Nigeria on government policies.

President of the group, Steve Oluwole, stated this in an interview with journalists recently on the causes and effects of the just concluded 3-day warning strike embarked upon by National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, in Nigerian public hospitals.

Oluwole said: “Strike actions by the resident doctors often provoke emotions and spontaneous reactions, which prevent in-depth analysis of the underlying problems and issues. Most resident doctors are individuals in their late twenties and early thirties, who are entitled to show sensitivities to monetary issues. They work very loaded schedules, undergo strenuous training, and prepare for rigorous postgraduate examinations in hospital environments where non-clinical staff also work.

“It is difficult to argue that resident doctors should look away from the remunerations of support staff, when and if such staff have better deal than them. While issues of relativity of remunerations provoke negative emotions outside of the hospital, it is central to equity and justice to ensure that those who discharge the primary functions of the hospital are not paid less than support staff. The Federal Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Labour and Productivity should avoid political decisions, agreements, or memoranda that are designed just to make a striking group suspend its strike, when it is obvious such agreements are not implementable, or will conflict with previous agreement with other groups. The two Ministries should harmonize to put an end to the cycles of strikes over the same issues,” he added.

Asked if consultant doctors who are left to attend to patients while a strike lasts could cope, Oluwole said: “The Teaching Hospitals and many tertiary medical centers are designed to function with resident doctors working with their consultants. Any expectation that it will be business as usual without them attending to their duties is deceptive. This is not to glamorize the roles of resident doctors, but simply to acknowledge that they must be around; they are expected to be available.”

He pledged MDCAN’s commitment to uninterrupted services in the hospitals, stressing that the confidence of patients in health care delivery could not be sustained by industrial actions.