As the strike embarked upon by the members of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) lingers on, the Federal Government has directed an indefinite suspension of intake of new medical doctors into public hospitals even as it has put on hold all residency programmes pending when a lasting solution is proffered to the sector.

 

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Anyim Pius Anyim disclosed this yesterday in Abuja when a Presidential Committee of Experts on Inter-Professional Relationships in the Public Health Sector and top policy makers of the Federal Government and headed by his predecessor, the former SGF, Yayale Ahmed paid him a visit.

Consequently, the meeting was fundamental as it intended to shed light on issues leading to the fostering of harmony in the public health sector of the country’s economy.

 

This is coming at a time a meeting between the NMA President, Dr. Kayode Obembe and the President of the Senate, David Mark who waded into the imbroglio yesterday, appeared to be yielding fruits.

Mark  had along with Delta State Governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who himself is a medical doctor , Senator Tunde Ogbeha and  Senior Special Assistant to  the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okukpe met with the doctors from Tuesday night until Wednesday morning at his Apo residence.

 

Anyim, who recalled that one of the concerns the committee shared “was that they did not know when the committee’s work ends, the committee thought that it was a ploy on the part of government to drag its feet on their demands” but the SGF remained resilient that with their visit, it is evident that the committee is at work, marching step by step with due diligence to arriving at a lasting solution towards the hiccups the sector is currently experiencing.

Speaking further he was confident of the fact that at the end of the sittings of the committee, a report painstaking report that will be acceptable to all the stakeholders in the sector will be unveiled.

 

He charged the committee to do a thorough job as to bring about recommendations that will be fair to all adding that the committee is made up of what he described as capable members owing to their professional background.

He appealed to the striking NMA professionals to be calm as according to him, “everything is on track to find a lasting solution to the varied challenges in the sector.

 

At the closed door meeting, Mark reminded the doctors of the implications of the strike to the health of the citizens, if they continue.

Indications were that government complied with a reasonable number of their demands following which they resolved to brief their members before the final decision to call off the action.

But Dr. Obembe said he would not give the exact date and time when the strike would be called off until he reports back to other members of the association since according to him, “the meeting with the Senate President is very useful and successful.”

 

He added that “Unlike the notion in some quarters that the striking doctors abandoned the nation in this trying times of major Heath challenge on account of the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), there was never a time we refused to respond to the national emergency, we have been alive to our duties as professionals and to our fatherland”.

It would be recalled that Mark had  also last Sunday night met with the striking doctors during which he pleaded with them to return to work in the interest of the nation just as he promised to table their grievances before Jonathan with a view to finding answers to them.