The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has reviewed the on-going nationwide strike of health workers which has paralysed all public health facilities at the different tiers of government.

 

We sympathise with consumers of health who are groaning especially in scenarios where they cannot afford the option of accessing services in the private sector.

 

Pharmacists under the aegis of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria note with concern the apparent lukewarm attitude of government which has manifested in its extremely slow response time. It is unpardonable that the Federal Government has not been able to meet even one of the twelve (12) cardinal demands of JOHESU which were bracketised into immediate and medium term needs in actualising a plan of action.

 

For the records, Nigerian doctors who have always informed the public of their know all propensities since they have been trained in all aspects of the “health professions” have failed woefully to sustain services.

In all instances, new patients are not attended to and all in-patients including those critically ill (like spinal cord injury patients) were discharged.

 

Government must show seriousness in releasing appropriate circulars in respect of the key elements in this negotiation process as a basic minimum to bring stakeholders in JOHESU back to the negotiation table in both the professional and public interest. The priority areas in our view include the reflected:

 

1.         Specific steps are to be taken by the Head of Service of the Federation to ensure the expedited issuance of an 

 

enabling circular authorizing consultancy cadre for health professionals that have adhered to due process, to be vested with 

 

consultancy status as a prelude to inculcating this cadre into the schemes of service of these health professionals. This 

 

must be worked out with the Federal Ministry of Health in line with the spirit of the circular on consultancy and specialist allowances Ref. SMH.491/S.2/VOL II.221 of 29th March, 1976, which authorizes consultancy status for all health professionals, and the condition precedent of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) that provides for a nod of the Federal Ministry of Health for the appointment of Consultants.

 

We seize this opportunity to remind government, that the Federal Ministry of Health cannot continue to be seen as a partial arbiter that does not disguise its bias towards the preferences of only one profession in a multi-disciplinary sector. This clamour becomes even more valid against the background that Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) caters for the interest of over 95% of the workforce in Healthcare.

 

 

2.      Payment of arrears of Specialist allowances to qualified hospital based health professionals with effect from January 1, 2010, should be paid without any delay, whatsoever.

3.       Flowing from 2 and 3 above the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) strongly demands that the Federal Ministry of Health must now come up with a circular on residency programmes for all health professionals in Nigeria.

4.     Immediate and full payment of arrears of the skipping of CONHESS 10 which remains outstanding since the year 2010.

5.         Immediate and unconditional release of the circular on adjustment of salary since January 2014 and immediate payment of at least 2 months arrears, while the balance is accommodated with proven evidence in the 2015 budget.

6.      Immediate release of the circular on extension of retirement age from 60 to 65 years to be backdated to February, 2014 when the issue was presented to the National Council on Establishment.

 

These six demands can be actualised if government chooses to dwell on ecclestical platitudes in this instance.

The other leg of the JOHESU demands including sponsoring amendment bill to redress contentious provisions in the Teaching Hospital Act in the below areas:

 

i.      Lopsided Composition of the Board of Management

ii.     Appointment of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Federal Health Institutions

iii.    Appointment of Chairman Medical Advisory Committee

iv.    Appointment of Deputy Chairman Medical Advisory Committee

v.    Training of Health Professionals

vi.   Removal of the Borders of Restriction on Permanent Staff of Federal Health Institution and in addition transcending the National Health Bill to an Act of Parliament, redressing the distortions in National Health Insurance Scheme, ameliorating the distasteful overlaps in some health statutes as well as actualising the establishment of a National Health Commission must be addressed within agreeable timelines.

 

It is also apropos to emphasise that the Federal Ministry of Health must immediately warn the boards of management of some of the Federal Health Institutions which are already enlisting blackmail and other acts of intimidation including threats of privatisation of pharmacy and diagnostic facilities that such would only worsen the situation.

 

Government needs to conduct studies on the outcome of privatisation exercises in pharmacy facilities in the past at University College Hospital, Ibadan and some Lagos State Government Pharmacy facilities like General Hospital, Gbagada where private profiteers after utilising government goodwill owe pharmaceutical companies significant tens of millions in naira.

 

Finally, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria strongly urges JOHESU to brief Organised Labour on events of the last few days with a view to encouraging the NLC and TUC to join forces with Health workers to compel government at all levels to see an urgent need to meet the conditionalities of striking health workers as this will put an end to the woes and sufferings unleashed on innocent masses because of glaring government insensitivity and negligence on the welfare of health workers.

 

OLUMIDE AKINTAYO,FPSN, FPCPHARM, FNAPHARM, FNIM

PRESIDENT, PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF NIGERIA